Ojamajo Doremi Breakaway: Friend's Requiem
by S.P.D. Gold Ranger
Summary: It's finally the kids' time to shine. Mana, Sakura, and Satoshi all set out on the adventure of their lives, hoping to find the one thing that can cure their ailing mothers while trying to stop the resurrection of a dark and ancient evil...
1. Act 1: A Quality of Mercy

(Prologue, written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"HEY! WAIT UP!"

"Finders keepers, silly girl!"

"Honestly... you two are unbelievable..."

Three young teenagers were rushing through the fields, all excited to have a day off from school.

The first of this little trio is Sakura Kelly, daughter of Nick Kelly and Momoko Asuka. Sakura is quite the adventurous girl with an unbreakable will much like that of her father. She was born with the gift of flight, which had been passed down from her mother many years ago. Sakura is fourteen years old, so she often likes to call herself the "mediator".

The second person of the group is Mana Shidoosha, daughter of Yuki Shinoya and Saiki Shidoosha. Being the youngest of the trio, Mana is very hyper, but cares deeply about her friends, and will often go to extreme lengths to protect what she cares about. Like her father, she is a night elemental. Mana is thirteen years old.

The last member of the trio is Satoshi Shidoosha, son of Yuki Shinoya and Saiki Shidoosha. Since Satoshi is the oldest of the three, he often tries to keep Mana and Sakura in check. Satoshi can sometimes be a little timid, but he has no problem showing bravery when it comes to protecting what's dear to him. He inherited his father's keen senses and some of his night elemental energy, as well as his mother's penchant for often getting hopelessly lost. Satoshi is fifteen years old.

"Bet you can't catch me!" Mana giggled, sticking her tongue out at Sakura as they all raced forward.

"Hey, I found that flower first, so BACK OFF!" Sakura shot back, pouring on the speed.

"Why are you two getting so worked up over a flower?" Satoshi wondered, a little confused as to why his two best friends were acting up.

"Sakura-chan wants to give this flower to that boy at school she LIKES!" Mana stated in a sing-song voice. This only seemed to make Sakura angrier.

"DON'T GO BROADCASTING IT FOR THE WHOLE FREAKING CITY TO HEAR!" Sakura shouted, tackling Mana to the ground before she could reach the crystal heart flower that the young night elemental was babbling on and on about.

"You must really like that boy, huh?" Mana asked, now her affectionate persona.

"That obvious?" Sakura asked, blushing a bit.

"They do say that whoever shares the crystal heart flower will have their destinies intertwined," Mana explained.

"He's such a nice boy," Sakura continued, her blush only intensifying. "I just want him to like me..."

"Then I can teach you!" Mana giggled. "Just call me the 'love doctor'!"

Sakura did an anime fall at that.

Just then, all three of them heard singing.

"Is... is that Haine-chan singing that?" Sakura asked.

Mana immediately shoved Sakura out of the way and rushed towards the source of the singing.

Sakura quickly picked herself up, rushing off after Mana. "HEY! NOT GONNA WORK A THIRD TIME! I GET THE FRONT ROW SEAT THIS TIME! YOU PROMISED!"

Satoshi just shook his head as he rushed to catch up. "Like I said, you two are unbelievable sometimes..."

(Author's Note: Okay, NEXT~ *hit by shoe* OW! All right, already! Our opening song for today's program will be "New World" by Round Table feat. Nino!)

_Whoa-oh, whoa-oh..._

(Footage: Mana and Sakura jump through barriers of light as the song begins, taking the time to strike cute poses.)

_Whoa-oh, whoa-oh..._

(Footage: The two girls realize they're floating in midair, and fall to the ground with stars spinning over their heads. Satoshi just shakes his head.)

_Tell me nanimo wakaranai no demo  
__(Tell me I don't understand anything, but...)_

(Footage: Mana can be seen walking down the early morning streets, passing by the Through the Night Hotel. She smiles at the memory and continues moving forward.)

_You say itsumo sonna kotoba mo  
__(You always say those kinds of words, too)_

(Footage: Sakura heads through the local park, taking note of a particular tree. She smiles at her own memory and runs towards the beach.)

_Surechigau dake no you find another way  
__(You find another way where we only pass each other by)_

(Footage: Satoshi appears to be searching for something. He turns a corner and notices a scrapbook lying by his feet.)

_Owatteku sekai wo tobidashite you know?  
__(And rush out into a world that's ending, you know?)_

(Footage: Satoshi dusts off the scrapbook, then opens it. A bright light envelops the screen as he does so.)

_Hello, hello, it's a new world!_

(Footage: We can see Nick and Momoko joining hands along a lovely painted background. The two lovers unleash their signature attack, the Double Ojamajo Sparkle Screw, which covers the screen.)

_hikari yori hayaku monokuro no supiido de  
__(Faster than light, with monochromic speed!)_

(Footage: Sakura skids to a stop upon catching sight of the local high school bullies. Just as they're about to pounce on her, Sakura flies into the air, sticking her tongue out at the dumbfounded bullies.)

_Hello, hello, it's a new world!_

(Footage: We can see Yuki and Saiki holding each other close as a massive, heart-shaped field of energy expands from them.)

_jikan yori tooku kakenukeru you're so far away  
__(Further away than time, I run through it; you're so far away...)_

(Footage: Mana hops between boulders, giggling all the while, only to fall down a gap. Satoshi jumps down after her, but Sakura flies in and catches the two at the last possible second.)

_Whoa-oh, whoa-oh..._

(Footage: Sakura sets Mana and Satoshi down and waves her finger like a certain famous hedgehog we all know. Mana nods vigorously, but Satoshi just shakes his head.)

_Whoa-oh, whoa-oh..._

(Footage: Sakura then turns around, noticing a few figures approaching the plateau quickly. Sakura turns to Mana and Satoshi, signaling that they should probably head back. The two siblings nod, and all three kids hop into the air as the song ends.)

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(Don't let the words of others get you down. Trust in yourself, in your friends, and you'll surely find what you seek.)

**S.P.D. Gold Ranger** and **YukiShinoya444** present:

Takeshi Kusao as Nick Kelly  
Saeko Chiba as Yuki Shinoya  
Nami Miyahara as Momoko Asuka  
Tomo Saeki as Saiki Shidoosha  
Aya Hisakawa as Sakura  
Mikako Takahashi as Mana  
Yū Kobayashi as Satoshi in...

_Ojamajo Doremi Breakaway: Friend's Requiem_

Story Created: December 11th, 2009 (Yes, it's taking a while. I know. We've both been busy with our other stories. Be patient, okay?)

Summary: Takes place after _Ojamajo Doremi Breakaway: The Final Frontier_. With things put right in the future again, we now take a look a few years later. Mana, Sakura, and Satoshi are all grown up now, but when their mothers fall ill, and the fathers are out on their own errands, the two daughters and the prodigical son must team up to find the one thing that can cure their ailing mothers. Little do they know that all three of them are pawns in a meticulously calculated plot to resurrect an ancient evil overlord thought to have been lost in the ravages of time...

Disclaimer: Neither Yuki-chan nor I own ANYTHING of Ojamajo Doremi, though we really wish we did. The series and all of its affiliations belong to Toei Animation and whoever licenses it for their particular country. Let's rock!

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Act 1: A Quality of Mercy

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"KOUNNA HAINE-CHAN, THERE YOU ARE!"

The girl addressed spun around with a smile, giggling as she did, her long lavender hair brushing against her waist.

"Mana-chan and Sakura-chan! Did you hear me?" she squealed as she hopped down, beaming.

"Nice work!" the two girls responded with mirrored thumbs up, earning the young superstar to just giggle.

This was Haine Kounna, daughter of Onpu Segawa and Tooru Kounna. Like her mother, Haine is a famous child idol though holds her father's love for dancing. Pride and joy of her two parents, Haine is nice but a bit arrogant and loves to show off. Despite everything though, she does hold her mother's self-value and would definitely help someone who truly needed it.

"Haine-chan, I see you've been practicing..." Satoshi muttered as he walked up, placing a hand on his sister's head. "Nice work."

Haine make a cute face as she hit the side of her head rather childishly.

"Well, I have to work up to Keri-chan's level, right?"

At the mention of 'Keri', the young boy's smile disappeared.

"She's not... here, is she?"

"Oh no, she's doing some work with her mama." The lavender-haired girl flicked her wrist. "Don't worry, Satoshi-kun."

"You're always so nervous around Keri-chan that it makes our cousins jealous," Mana teased, wrapping her arms around her brother's shoulders. "You're such a sly dog, nii-chan."

"M-Mana-chan, that's not-!"

"So Haine-chan, can you sing for us?" Sakura butted in, curious. "You really do sound good..."

"I'd love to but I'm visiting my mama." Haine smiled slightly, sighing. "She's been so busy lately, especially being married to papa and all..."

"That's unfair, Haine-chan!"

"Aw, what can you do? See ya!"

"H-HAINE-CHAN!"

Both Sakura and Mana slumped as Haine skipped off, groaning.

"She always does this, Mana-chan."

"You think I don't know that?"

Just then there was giggling, earning Satoshi to perk up and turn to face another girl around Sakura's age. This girl had light auburn hair that went past her shoulders and was held back by yellow ribbon with almost honey-colored eyes as she covered her mouth, stifling another giggle while brushing down her long white dress.

"Oh, Natsuki-chan. So you saw."

Natsuki just nodded, smiling still.

"Nice to see you, Satoshi-kun."

Satoshi had to smile in response while the two girls beside him perked up in confusion.

"Natsuki-chan?"

This was Natsuki Kashikoi, daughter of Hazuki Fujiwara and Fujio Kashikoi. Like both her parents, Natsuki is a well-mannered and soft-spoken young girl who had a rather strange interest in odd facts, bad jokes, and the violin. She was definitely someone that everyone was fond (and careful) with all at the same time.

"Greetings, you two. I was searching for Rai-chan, but I found you two instead..."

"Oh, Raika-chan?" Satoshi looked exasperated but smiled anyway. "I thought you'd be searching for..."

"I don't know where they are," Natsuki answered quickly with a sigh. "Ever since their father's been caught up handling the Mahoutsukaikai, all of our fathers... They've just been... missing."

Satoshi looked surprised and frowned in worry.

"Those two...missing? Are you sure, Natsuki-chan?"

"Everyone, especially Megumi-chan and Keri-chan, is worried about them..." The Kashikoi girl frowned deeply, concerned beyond belief. "I worry, but I just want papa back, really... Mama's so worried about him."

"That sounds just like Natsuki-chan's mom!" Mana exclaimed cheerfully before going oddly silent. "Although... Okaa-chan has just been a bit of a wreck without otou-chan around..."

"Your parents are so lovey-dovey," Natsuki laughed with a sigh. "I envy you, Mana-chan. My parents are still so shy around each other... I'm not even quite sure why they got married..."

"Probably because your mom saw that your dad really loved her?" Sakura suggested before smiling. "Hey, my mom's still waiting for dad too... All of them are. But, when you say that those two are missing..."

"I hope our two cousins are alright," Mana muttered then, frowning. "By the way Natsuki-chan, what about our other friends? Rai-chan, Megumi-chan, and Kanae-chan?"

"I'm looking for Rai-chan like I said, but I have no idea where Megumi-chan and Kanae-chan are, but..."

Natsuki dropped below a whisper.

"At least I heard from them recently..."

All was quiet before Mana spoke again, her voice cracking.

"O-Oh..."

"Mana-chan, shouldn't we go check on okaa-san?" Satoshi quickly interjected, taking his sister's arm. "She's probably worried sick."

"That reminds me!" Sakura exclaimed loudly, completely getting Satoshi's unspoken message. "I have to check on MY mom too! See ya, Natsuki-chan."

"Bye, Sakura-chan."

"See ya, Natsuki-chan."

"Have a safe trip, Mana-chan. Satoshi-kun, you too."

"We will."

And with that, they disbanded.

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"It's been so long, Saiki-kun..."

An all grown-up Yuki picked up the picture of their wedding day. Almost two decades ago, but it felt like yesterday.

"Where are you right now?" she wondered absent-mindedly, wiping off the picture for the umpteenth time, her brown eyes going vacant. "It's been too long since you've visited, and I miss you."

The former black witch apprentice set it down, sighing heavily.

"Has it been months? A year? It feels like it's been well over a few centuries."

"OKAA-CHAN, WE'RE HOME!"

Yuki immediately spun around at the voice as Mana bolted in and tackled her mother in a hug.

"Mana-chan! So good to see you!"

"We were worried about you, okaa-san." Satoshi spoke up as he walked in, his mother's eyes automatically brightening up like a child on Christmas.

"Satoshi-kun!" she squealed as she separated from Mana, rushing over to glomp her eldest son, sighing happily. "Ah, you're looking more and more like Saiki-kun every day..."

Satoshi smiled sadly at that. His mother was always offer-affectionate with him due to his uncanny alikeness to his dad when he was the same age. And when he left, the babying and doting just got worse and almost distressing.

"Calm down, okaa-san..."

"If only it weren't for the eyes," Yuki noted with a slightly melancholy expression, looking into her son's chocolate brown eyes that were so much like her own. "You could be an exact replica of your father."

_If only they were the deepest coal black... just like Saiki-kun's...then he'd be absolutely perfect._

Satoshi blinked uncomfortably. His mom was getting sentimental in a weird way again and he pushed her hands away, clearing his throat.

"You haven't been pushing yourself have you?"

"No, I haven't."

"That's good then."

Yuki smiled brightly and kissed Satoshi's forehead, earning a deep blush as she ruffled his hair.

"You're such a good boy, Satoshi-kun."

"V-Very funny..."

Mana giggled at the sight.

_My older brother can be so shy..._

"By the way, okaa-san... I need to ask you something."

"Oh? What is it, Satoshi-kun?"

"Have you heard from your sister-in-law lately?"

Yuki seemed wistful for some reason and it made Satoshi's eyes narrow further.

"Um, Momo-chan... or..."

"I'm talking about Shidoosha Doremi-san."

Mana flinched and their mother's eyes jolted wide before she frowned deeply, looking as if she was about to burst into tears.

"She... Doremi-chan is worried like crazy over her girls... Even Poppu-chan's deathly concerned... Doremi-chan's been really sick, too... and alone. I try to visit her, but she doesn't even talk much, and she does... She just... murmurs Akatsuki-kun's and the twins' names over and over again. I'm really worried about her..."

"I see..." Satoshi bowed his head so his hair hid his eyes. "We should visit her more often."

Yuki smiled sadly, nodding in agreement.

"Yes...definitely."

"Are you sick too, okaa-san?"

"Oh, I have a slight headache... not to mention some heartache... but it's good!"

The young woman smiled bigger, earning a look of unease to slip across her children's faces.

"I'm just worried about Nick-kun and Saiki-kun, and..."

"You should rest." This time Mana had spoken. Like her brother, she hadn't missed a beat.

"Huh? Oh, Mana-chan... I told you I'm..."

"Rest, okaa-san." Satoshi's voice was firm. "We can tell you're lying."

"Satoshi..." That was when she was cut off violently and began coughing, worrying the heck out of the two kids.

"OKAA-CHAN!" Mana screamed in horror as she rushed to her mother's side while Satoshi watched in terror. "S-Satoshi, help!"

Her brother blinked once and quickly complied, heading over to help his sister lead their mom to bed, tucking her in soundly as she murmured only one name that died on her lips but fell time and time again.

"_Saiki-kun... Saiki-kun... Saiki-kun..."_

Yuki sniffled, tears welling up into her eyes.

"_Please come back to me. I need you."_

"Okaa-san..." Satoshi choked quietly as Mana held him close, trying to comfort her older brother. "I knew she was sick too, but this is just..."

"There, there, Satoshi-nii-chan... It's alright, it's alright."

But she soon frowned, the question in both their minds as clear as day.

_What do we do?_

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"OKAA-SAMA, I'M HOME!"

Momoko couldn't help but smile as her daughter burst through the front door as she always liked to do. "Welcome home, Sakura-chan. Everything go okay for you?"

"Right as rain, okaa-sama!" Sakura giggled. "Say, where's otou-san?"

"Nick had some business to take care of in the Mahoutsukaikai, but he should be back soon," Momoko answered. "Dinner's almost ready, too."

"Ooh, boy! What's for eats tonight?"

"That veal oscar you like."

"YAY!" Sakura exclaimed. Momoko couldn't help but laugh at that; Sakura always did love the veal oscar she made.

"Is that you, Sakura-chan?"

"Answer us if you can still hear us!"

The quartz witch perked up at those voices.

"No way!" Sakura exclaimed, racing into the living room, where two girls about her age were sitting at the dinner table, playing an old-fashioned board game.

The first girl, Nanaka Reisei, had brown hair tied in a high ponytail, and wore an orange vest, a blue tank top, green shorts and Capri sandals. Her eyes were a deep shade of strawberry pink.

The second girl, Asami Kitakaze, had long, flowing silver hair, was wearing a leaf-green shirt with yellow stars patterned on it, blue Capri pants, and matching sandals. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of pure emerald green. She was also wearing her mother's famous Pokéball cap.

"I thought we'd find you here, Sakura-chan," Asami giggled.

"NANAKA-CHAN! ASAMI-CHAN!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing up to hug the two girls. "It's been ages!"

"We were about to say that, Sakura-chan," Nanaka responded, gently returning the hug. She really liked her.

"Two years and you're still as perky as ever!" Asami stated firmly.

"And that's supposed to mean what?" Sakura teased. "So, how'd you two get here so fast? Your mothers live so far away from Misora!"

"They were kind enough to zap us over here earlier so we could wait for you!" Asami answered. "They're so sweet, you know that?"

Sakura had to stifle a laugh at that. Asami was very affectionate to her friends and people she cared about.

"Here comes the mushy stuff," Nanaka noted, stifling a laugh herself.

"HEY! Around my mothers, I have a RIGHT to be mushy! They can do it, so why can't I?" Asami shot back.

Sakura finally started laughing at this. These two always managed to make her laugh.

Just then, Sakura turned her head towards the living room.

"Did you two hear that?" Sakura asked.

"Hear what?" Asami wondered.

At that precise moment, a loud explosion erupted from the living room, causing all three teenagers to shoot from their seats and rush to check on the disturbance.

Sakura was the first to see what had happened; Momoko had been knocked unconscious and was quite wounded, and standing over her was a mysterious person, cloaked in darkness.

"OKAA-SAMA!" Sakura screamed.

"Phase one complete," the shadow stated, holding an eerie red jewel. "It will not be much longer, master."

"HEY, YOU!" Sakura exclaimed. "Did you do this?"

"Ah, the bratlings," the shadow noted. "I was told I'd be seeing you."

Asami perked up at this. "'Bratlings'? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

Nanaka shook her head. "Don't you remember? Haruka-mama had a run-in with that very same person when she was just a teenager!"

Then, Asami realized who her sister was talking about. "Black Waltz Three!"

"Good guess," Waltz responded.

"HOW DO YOU KEEP COMING BACK?" Nanaka exclaimed. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DIE AND STAY DEAD?"

Waltz just shook his head. "You brats are weird..."

Sakura thrust her right hand outward. "You are going to PAY DEARLY for hurting my mother! You got that, freak show?"

Energy began to gather around Sakura's outstretched hand.

"_Stab the enemy, Suzumebachi!"_

A powerful-looking energy needle connected to a golden bracelet appeared around Sakura's wrist.

"Nice try, bratling, but that won't work on me this time," Waltz sneered.

"Excuse me one moment," Sakura stated, firing a concussive shockwave from Suzumebachi that stunned Waltz. The quartz witch wasted no time in rushing over to her mother.

"Man, I am so glad otou-san taught me this," Sakura noted, waving her arms in a bizarre pattern before holding them towards Momoko.

"_Soten kisshun! I reject!"_

Momoko was covered in a bright light, and when it cleared, her wounds had been healed.

"Asami-chan, Nanaka-chan, get okaa-sama out of here. This fight's about to get ugly," Sakura stated.

Asami nodded as she and Nanaka went to ferry Momoko safely away from the battlefield.

"Are you sure we should be leaving her alone, onee-chan?" Nanaka asked.

"This is Sakura-chan we're talking about," Asami responded, smiling brightly. "She'll be fine."

Meanwhile, Waltz had recovered and was now glaring menacingly at the quartz witch.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that, girlie," Waltz growled.

Sakura simply smirked, bringing Suzumebachi into a fighting stance. "Try me."

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"Onii-chan, report! Is there ANYTHING in otou-chan's medical library that'll help?"

"I-I'm searching through..." Satoshi flipped through one of the many books on medicine with several more open. "I still can't find it..."

_But still... I'm really glad that otou-san's brother let him keep all these books... Surely, I'll find something in here..._

"Well, hurry up!"

"I'm trying, Mana-chan!"

Mana frowned as she placed the ice bag over her unconscious mother's head, sighing as she did.

"Okaa-chan... Just hang in there... Please..."

"_Saiki-kun..."_ was what was whispered from Yuki's lips before she shivered again, her tearstained cheeks glistening.

The young night elemental's frown deepened as she brushed away the moisture from her face, stoking her mom's cheek.

"It's okay, okaa-chan. Otou-chan...will be back. He has to be."

She shook her head, her body trembling a bit as well.

_Okaa-chan... What's happening? Is it the same thing as auntie Doremi...?_

"SATOSHI! PLEASE HURRY!"

Satoshi flinched at how desperate his sister sounded, looking through the books again as he flipped through the pages.

"There has to be something in here..."

He stopped on page that had some sort of a picture of a crystallized flower, his brown eyes slowly widening.

"T-This is..."

Satoshi slammed his hand down, his eyes still wide like he'd seen a ghost.

_That's it!_

"MANA-CHAN!"

Mana perked up as her brother ran in, holding the book close to himself like some sort of lifeline.

"Sa...to?"

"I...I found what we need..." Satoshi panted, showing her the page with the flower, biting his lip. "We need this."

"This? What is it?" she looked up at him, still so confused. "Satoshi-nii-chan, I don't understand."

"This is a cure, Mana-chan. For okaa-san."

Mana's own navy-blue eyes widened as they both stared at their mother still in bed, running a fever and whimpering in pain.

The youngest daughter bit her lip before speaking again.

"If it makes okaa-chan better, onii-chan. You can count me in. I don't care what it is; I'll get the cure for her."

Satoshi smiled warily at that.

"I was both afraid and hopeful you'd say that. Shall we call Sakura-chan to watch okaa-san for us?"

Mana smiled bitterly and nodded.

"Who else can we trust when our other cousins are gone?"

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"Sakura-chan should be fine... I'm more worried about her mother though..."

Nanaka sighed as she and Asami set the unconscious Momoko down, Asami quickly checking for any injuries.

"She's really out of it, sis."

"I know that, onee-chan..."

They exchanged worried glances and Nanaka's frown deepened as she touched the side of the former yellow witch's face, earning her to stir.

"N..._Nick_..."

That earned the two girls' eyes to jolt wide.

"Nick...That would be..."

"The same guy mama claimed she was married to when they were little!" Asami exclaimed in surprise. "I can't believe that I almost forgot about that..."

"I forgot he was Sakura-chan's parent," Nanaka began, looking at her older sister with a concerned glimmer. "He wasn't here when we visited..."

"I wonder where he is," Asami pondered with a slight pout. "It's sort of mean to leave a pretty wife and daughter all alone..."

Then Momoko coughed, shivering like crazy.

"Urgh... N-_Nick_!"

"Careful!" Nanaka yelped, trying to calm her down. "Don't hurt yourself and worry Sakura-chan!"

"What's wrong with her, sis?"

"How should I know, onee-chan?"

Nanaka soon turned back to where they left Sakura, her fists clenching in worry.

"Sakura-chan... Please just hurry."

_I don't know if we're ready for this..._

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"Just get OUT of here, Waltz!"

"Oh, and miss this sort of excitement? I don't think so."

Sakura smirked as she began glowing a golden aura.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Waltz smirked as well before flicking a bit of dark magic that sent Sakura into the wall with a yelp.

"Would you look at that? My sweet apprentice calls."

Sakura's eyes jolted wide as she scrambled to her feet in time to see he had vanished, her eyes still wide in shock.

"A...Apprentice? What apprentice?"

Somewhere in the distance, a young girl that was around Satoshi's age, her eyes hidden by her long locks of hair.

"This...was only to be expected, I suppose."

Sakura soon perked up and sighed, falling back down with her back against the same wall she was hurled against, her weapon disappearing.

"This is just insane."

Wh_y is this happening? When our fathers were still here, everything was so great! We were all happy, laughing...and...and..._

Her breath caught in her throat.

_Our other cousins were still with us. Do they have something to do with this entire crazy situation?_

Sakura bit her lip, trembling with anger.

_I don't understand!_

Her fury switched off like a light when she felt her teeth pierce her skin, blood trickling down her chin.

_Ah!_

She wiped herself furiously, grimacing disdainfully at the crimson stain on the back of her hand.

_What's going on?_

"SAKURA-CHAN, HURRY UP AND GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!"

_What?_

Sakura quickly stood up, dashing to the source of the voice.

"Co-Coming!"

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"You overdid it you know, Waltz-san."

"So you were watching after all..."

She wrinkled her nose in disgust as he strolled by, chuckling as he did.

"Gargos is one unlucky bastard for not getting a cute apprentice like you."

"Shut up."

The apprentice looked up, pure scarlet eyes revealed.

"Apprentice or not, I refuse to be treated like some little girl toy for you. Keep in mind that we're both well-aware that I could overpower you easily."

Waltz smirked at that.

"Fiery too. Such an angel."

She sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I feel like an abused mother... look, is the plan going along smoothly or not?"

"The master will be pleased."

"I'll take that as a yes."

As she turned heel to walk away, Waltz spoke up.

"So what are you going to do about the last link anyway?"

She stopped and there was silence before a slight smirk tugged at her lips.

"I have my plans for that one. I think forever chaining him up and keeping him all to myself is a nice idea, no? After all, how much fun would it be for a toy of my own?"

Waltz chuckled.

"I'll have to ask the master if you can do that."

She just smiled and bowed gratefully, looking like an innocent child.

"Please do."

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"We changed our minds at the last minute and asked Natsuki-chan instead..."

Satoshi sighed heavily as he took Mana's hand, leading them both down the long path.

"It can't be helped, after all if we HAD asked Sakura-chan, she would have insisted coming with us. Natsuki-chan helping was inevitable, but hopefully she'll keep her word..."

Mana pouted at that.

"I still don't think this a good idea, nii-chan. I love Natsuki-chan and all, but..."

"You really need to show some trust towards your friends, Mana-chan. Otou-san said he had the same problem."

His sister blinked in surprise before her gaze narrowed.

"Hypocrite."

Satoshi froze and slumped a bit, feeling nothing less than actually hurt.

"Don't rub it in, Mana-chan."

The navy witch soon smiled and wrapped her arms around her brother, squealing.

"No worries! I still love nii-chan most! Now and always!"

Satoshi blushed at that.

"Mana-chan..."

"So would that make this a love square? Or a really weird love arrow?"

He fell over at that.

"On second thought, Mana-chan... Maybe we _should_ expand our world a little more..."

Mana grinned at that, helping up her brother.

"I was kidding, Satoshi-nii-chan! But aw well, first things are first! Let's go save our mommy!"

Satoshi couldn't help but smile in response and nod, their hands tightening around each other.

"Let's."

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"It has begun, Master Malladus."

"_Excellent, Waltz."_

"Those brats have no idea what they're getting themselves into. That journey to the mountains to find the cure for their ailing parents... they have no idea at all that they're nothing but pawns in my plot to resurrect you from the pits that you were sealed in."

Malladus, a massive, pig-like creature with more than a passing resemblance to Ganon, put his hand to his chin.

"_You must still monitor them, Waltz. You know very well what could happen if the trinity comes together at the point of convergence."_

"Do not worry, Master Malladus. I have studied the legends extensively. The trinity will not be a problem to you as long as I'm around."

"_Make sure of it, Waltz. I will not have those brats interfering with my grand plans."_

Waltz bowed one more time, and Malladus disappeared from sight.

"He is too strong for you, Waltz-san."

"Oh, shut up."

The mysterious girl with the scarlet eyes stepped out from the shadows, the rest of her features still obscured. "How much longer are you going to put up this façade? If our plan to steal Malladus' power for ourselves is going to succeed, we absolutely can NOT let him figure out we're plotting against him."

Waltz just smiled wickedly. "Make no mistake, my sweet little apprentice. I have spent DECADES plotting what's to come. I know what could happen in every possible outcome. Malladus understands nothing."

"If you wish to overthrow him, then why are you putting your trust in him? Why do you need his power if you're just going to betray him in the end?"

Waltz grimaced at that. "Because I have some... _errands_... that I need to take care of before we begin our vendetta."

The mystery girl's scarlet eyes suddenly flickered in understanding. "Those pesky Ojamajos, right?"

Waltz nodded, dark energy surrounding his fists. "Malladus revived me so I could take my revenge on the brats, and I intend to do just that, even if I'm going to betray him."

The mystery girl smiled. "I see you've really thought this through."

"Do not worry, young one. This world will definitely be OURS once we have our way."

"Music to my ears. It's been too long since I've been able to have some fun."

Once the two had disappeared, the watchful eyes of Malladus appeared from the shadows.

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"What the heck is going on?" Sakura exclaimed, trying to make sense of the mysterious situation. "Why did okaa-sama get so sick all of a sudden? Does otou-san know something about this? He's GOT to! That's probably why all of my cousin's fathers have been in the Majokai for so long!"

Suddenly, Sakura realized something. "I'll bet Mana-chan and Satoshi-kun know something! I'd better go see if I can find those two!"

Sakura whipped out her wand and chanted a teleportation spell. Within seconds, she had disappeared.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Asami exclaimed, having rushed back downstairs. "WHERE THE HECK DID YOU GO?"

"Hey, she left a note," Nanaka noted, picking up the aforementioned note that Sakura had left for the sisters.

_Sorry to leave on such short notice, guys, but I have a feeling that otou-san may know something about what's wrong with okaa-sama, and maybe Mana-chan and Satoshi-kun can help me. I'm off to the Shinoya house! Watch over momma for me, okay?_

_Kisses,  
__Sakura_

"Are you sure this is okay, Nanaka-chan?" Asami asked.

Nanaka responded by giving her sister a gentle kiss on the forehead. "It'll be fine. This IS Sakura-chan we're talking about."

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Just as Mana and Satoshi were about to head out, they felt an odd presence, and the next thing they knew, Sakura had just kicked open the door.

"Okay, guys, I KNOW you know something!" Sakura exclaimed.

"What?" Mana asked, knowing what Sakura was trying to do. The navy witch knew quite personally how stubborn Sakura could be.

"Okaa-sama's sick, and I have a feeling the same thing's happening to everyone else!" Sakura explained. "I want to help you guys!"

"But... but Sakura-chan..." Satoshi stated, trying to reason with the quartz witch. "It's going to be really dangerous..."

"Hey, I thrive on danger!" Sakura shot back. "Look, you two. I love my mother, and it HURTS me to see her like this. And if what I think is right, your mother is suffering, too. If the three of us team up, we may be able to figure out just what's going on here!"

Mana was surprised to realize that Sakura had a point. If both Yuki and Momoko had gotten sick like this, she was willing to bet it had happened to the other Ojamajos as well.

"Wait a minute, Sakura-chan! What about Auntie Momoko?"

"Nanaka-chan and Asami-chan are watching her for me. I'd trust them with my lives," Sakura explained.

"Well, as long as everyone's safe, I guess you can come with us, Sakura-chan," Satoshi stated.

"Just be careful, okay?" Mana noted. "If something happened to you OR my beloved nii-chan, I'd never forgive myself."

"Noted and logged, believe me!" Sakura cheered. "All right, let's head to these mountains!"

But as the heroic trio set out, they had no idea they were being watched by the mysterious girl with scarlet eyes.

"And so it begins."

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"Satoshi! Supply check!"

"We're magic users Mana-chan. A supply check would be superfluous."

"You and your big words!"

"He's right, Mana-chan. We need to be serious."

"Are you sick too, Sakura-chan?"

"No! I just..."

Mana smiled sadly as they walked and looked up with a sigh, her navy eyes blanking out in thought for a few moments.

_Now that I think about it... around the time Doremi-jou-chan got sick was when those two disappeared... is it possible that they're also...?_

"Mana-chan."

She looked towards her brother who also seemed to be in the same deep thought that she was in.

"Do you think... that those two as well...?"

The sparkle returned to Mana's navy-colored eyes as they widened and she smiled brightly.

"We truly are siblings, Satoshi-nii-chan!"

This confused her poor older brother.

"H-Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing! So what were you saying?"

"Forget it." Satoshi sighed heavily. _She already figured it out. I really am bested by my baby sister... wait, baby? Otou-chan would scold me for sure._

"Aw, onii-chan..."

Sakura watched the two continue their little 'fight' with a sigh, her own eyes going empty.

_I really wish... that I had a little brother or sister to protect...but instead..._

The image of her parents flashed in her mind.

_I have them... but that's alright, isn't it?_

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura perked up with a slight gasp as she looked up, spotting another girl around her age sitting on a tree branch with long sea-green hair and dark forest-green eyes with a flower styled in her hair as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Is that you, Sakura-chan?"

The girl addressed could only stare in disbelief, her eyes wide. Mana noticed the new arrival as well, letting out a surprised 'oh'.

"Megumi-chan! Long time no see!"

"Same here," Megumi laughed ruefully, hoping down to curtsy. "Sakura-chan, Mana-chan, Satoshi-kun...it's good to see you."

Satoshi could only blink. "S-Same here..."

Nakamura Megumi, named after her maternal grandmother, was Takahashi Moriko's daughter and was just as much as a nature freak as her mother was. While normally straight-to-the-point and stubborn, Megumi was well-known for her playful streak and being the slight tsundere that she was.

"Yo. So what are you all doing way out here anyway?"

"We should be asking you the same question," Sakura growled lightly, on the defensive already. Mana and Satoshi looked at their cousin in worry. "Why are you out here, Megumi-chan?"

Megumi huffed. "Oh, no reason..."

"That's a lie," Satoshi muttered glumly, earning his sister's attention as she blinked in curiosity.

"Megumi-chan...tell the truth."

"Mana-chan! That is to say that I-!"

Megumi faltered, looking almost melancholy. "I...I'm worried about Kanae-chan, so I'm looking for her. We've already lost the twins and..."

"Those two are not dead." The boy's voice was firm. "Those two are definitely not 'lost', Megumi-chan."

"Aw Satoshi-kun... ya really haven't changed." She laughed without humor, as if it were just some cruel, sick joke. "Those two ARE lost... if they weren't, then their mother wouldn't be suffering so..."

Mana flinched and her brother said nothing, staring at the ground oh so silently.

"We're in a hurry Megumi-chan," Sakura spoke up protectively, stepping in front of her two cousins. "We're on a mission."

"Mission?" Megumi smiled ruefully making a 'hmm' sound. "Can I join you?"

"It's too dangerous, Megumi-chan!" Mana quickly exclaimed before looking down in a discouraged manner. "We... We don't need you to come so you shouldn't..."

She casted her brother an unsure glance, as if awaiting orders.

"...Right?"

Satoshi sighed heavily, just nodding along with his sister.

"That's right."

"How rude." The flower-loving girl pursed her lips. "I could really help you too, you know..."

"S-Sorry."

"Huh."

Megumi held her head up as if in thought and Sakura allowed herself to calm down, groaning heavily.

_Megumi-chan hasn't really changed one bit._

"...I don't care. I'm coming anyway."

_I knew it._

Satoshi just shrugged. "Do what you will..."

"Just..." Mana continued, sounding a lot more mature for her age. "Don't hold us back."

Megumi had to smirk at that.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Good." Sakura huffed. "We're good then."

The flower-lover smiled and nodded, bowing.

"We are good."

Meanwhile from the distance the scarlet-eyed girl watched with indifference, her eyes stuck on Satoshi the whole while.

_Hm..._

She soon smirked and vanished.

"If you're going to find new allies... pick more interesting ones."

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"Huh?"

A girl around Satoshi's age looked up in confusion, long ebony hair blowing in the breeze as her navy-colored eyes blinked.

"What... was that?"

She looked up in worry, seeming unsure of herself.

"That can't be good."

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"Why are you joining us anyway, Megumi-chan?"

"Lighten up, Sakura-chan! It's safety in numbers, right? Besides, I may find Kanae-chan quicker this way..."

"Is Kanae-chan really that lost thought?"

"Why so doubtful, Satoshi-kun? Aw, don't give me that pitiful look! It's rude!"

"She's right nii-chan. This IS Megumi-chan that we're talking about here. You know how she is around Kanae-chan."

"...That's true."

"Still so cute, Mana-chan!"

"Don't flatter me, Megumi-chan."

"You love it when your dad or Satoshi-kun does though..."

"...?"

"A-Ah! T-T-That's DIFFERENT, Megumi-chan! O-Otou-chan is just..."

"Proud daddy's girl like always."

"MEGUMI-CHAN!"

"Aw...what can you do, Mana-chan?"

"Sakura-chan, defend me!"

Megumi had to laugh, her smile bright.

"I swear...you three really do never change."

"Neither do you," Sakura countered matter-of-factly as she playfully smirked. "But that can't be helped..."

Megumi's smile faded.

"Yeah..."

_It really can't..._

"Megumi-chan?"

"Yes, Mana-chan?"

"Um..."

Mana soon sighed and shook her head.

"Forget it. It's nothing. Just if you know anything more about this crystallized flower we're looking for."

"That's not nothing, Mana-chan." Megumi frowned in disapproval. "You mean like the flower in the Cursed Forest?"

"Similar to that," Satoshi noted, smiling a bit. "But this flower lies beyond the ruins of a once proud city known as Fortunas."

"F-Fortunas?" the flower-lover gasped in shock. "You mean the Chiyubara? I've only heard of that beauty!"

She then swooned, stars forming in her eyes.

"With luscious sparkling white pedals and only the sweetest most exquisite perfume known in this world, the Chiyubara is one of the most beautiful flowers out there! Oh, how I'd love to stroke it and inhale its velvety aroma just once!"

_No doubt..._ The trio thought all at once with one huge sweatdrop. _She is DEFINITELY her mother's child._

"Actually..." Satoshi found himself saying. "We're looking for the Chiyubara and plan on picking it."

Megumi perked up in surprise as she stared at him.

"H-Huh? Satoshi-kun, surely you're just joking..."

He shook his head, completely serious. The green-haired girl looked hurt at that and shook her head.

"Satoshi-kun, you can't do that! The Chiyubara's beauty must be kept and you can't ruin that! Nature's gift... it isn't right to take advantage of it..."

"Our mother is DYING, Megumi-chan."

Needless to say, THAT shocked her.

"D-Dying...? Your mom...? L-Like... Like..."

"Like the twins' mom. That flower is the only cure for her."

"And my okaa-sama too," Sakura inputted, getting in between as if to shield Satoshi. "Sorry, Megumi-chan."

Megumi frowned.

"We won't let you get in our way..." Mana walked up, smiling sympathetically. "But feel free to leave."

"That just makes it even harder, Mana-chan." The flower lover shook her head. "I'm sorry."

And with that she disappeared, making the trio exchange worried looks before Satoshi sadly smiled.

"It just can't be helped. It's Megumi-chan, after all."

Silence.

"Sa... Sakura-chan? Let's just get going, okay?" Mana asked, taking her older cousin's hand.

Sakura could only nod.

"Yes..."

_Sorry, Megumi-chan. See you soon._

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"So, what exactly is this Fortunas that Satoshi-kun was talking about?" Sakura asked. "I don't remember learning about that in history class..."

"That's because it's not a widely-known legend, Sakura-chan," Satoshi explained. "You see, about a thousand years ago, there were two worlds, one of light and one of dark. The two worlds were kept eternally separated, until one day, by a chance encounter, the worlds did meet. They both scared each other to death, and that began what's known in the history books as the Thousand Years War. Near the end of the war, the light world pretty much almost annihilated the dark world, but in one last ditch attempt, the dwindling darkness threw itself into the light, and this created a being known as Hakumei. Hakumei then split the light and dark worlds into many separate, yet combined fragments. Not much happened until about a hundred years after the end of the war, when one of Hakumei's worlds, Fortunas, faced a disaster known as the 'night of the falling stars'. Hakumei basically sacrificed herself to stop the disaster, but two humans from Fortunas, Caia and Aida, found the two jewels that kept Hakumei alive and used them to revive her. Hakumei was so grateful for this that she let Caia and Aida use the light jewel to bring life to Fortunas, with the condition that the jewel be returned on the night of the Celestial Eclipse. But Caia was afraid that once the jewel was returned, Fortunas would become a barren wasteland again. So Caia tricked Aida into betraying Hakumei, and Hakumei fell into a millennium-long rest, determined to take her revenge on the people of Fortunas when she awoke."

"Ooh, that's creepy," Sakura stated.

"Otou-san always got a little freaked out when he talked about that story," Satoshi responded, smiling a bit.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"

Sakura jerked around at that voice.

"Wait. Was that Anju-chan?" Sakura exclaimed. "Come on, guys, she needs help!"

And Sakura was off like a lightning bolt, leaving a very confused Mana and Satoshi to follow the hyper quartz witch straight into the ruins of Fortunas.

"Anju-chan, if you can hear me, say something!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I SAID HELP!"

Sakura looked up at one of the nearby tall pillars, and what she saw bewildered her: hanging from the top of the pillar was a girl about her age who had long orange hair that reached to about her waist, sky-blue eyes, and was wearing a white t-shirt with a flower patterning, blue jeans, and sandals.

"Anju-chan, you wanna explain what you're doing up there?" Sakura asked, a sweatdrop appearing on her forehead.

"I guess you could say that I still stink at 'mountain climbing'," Anju Izawa responded.

"Just let go and I'll catch you!" Sakura stated, holding her hands out. Not a second later, Anju leaped from the pillar to be easily caught by Sakura.

"There you go," Sakura giggled, setting Anju down. "Now how about you tell me what you're doing here? Izawa-san must be worried sick about you!"

"I was trying to find Sango-chan," Anju answered, referring to Yumi's daughter, Sango Hitoyama. "She told me she was going to Fortunas to get some in-depth information on its ruins. Something for her history project, I think. And, unfortunately, she got herself lost in here."

"That Sango-chan," Sakura noted. "Always finding some excuse to go on an adventure... just like Hitoyama-san when she was younger... All right, let's go look for her..."

With that, Sakura followed Anju towards the center of the ruins.

"Things just keep getting weirder and weirder, don't they, onii-chan?" Mana asked once they'd reached the ruins of Fortunas; Sakura was VERY fast, something she'd apparently picked up from her father.

"'Weirder' is just putting it mildly, Mana-chan," Satoshi answered.

Mana just giggled.

All of a sudden, completely out of nowhere, something rushed in and snatched Satoshi right off of the ground.

"HEY! LET GO OF MY ONII-CHAN, WHOEVER YOU ARE!" Mana instantly screamed.

It was the same scarlet-eyed girl who had been seen with Waltz. She grinned wickedly, not even noticing that Satoshi was struggling in her grip.

"Such harsh words, witch girl," the scarlet-eyed girl responded. "Perhaps you don't understand who you're dealing with."

"I know enough to tell you that you'd better let my onii-chan go before I turn you into space dust, red-eyes!" Mana shot right back.

"'Red-eyes'? I HAVE a name, you know," the girl groaned. "The name's Kami Akuko, known to some as the Scarlet Shade. Now say your prayers, little girl. Because, just like the others who've seen the Scarlet Shade in action, you won't be alive to tell the tale."

"All right, THAT DOES IT!" Mana exclaimed, surrounded by a navy blue energy aura. "The kids at school know not to piss me off, and you're about to see first-hand why that is!"

Kami just grinned. "Come on, then."

"_For one who will always cherish the ones she loves..."_

Within seconds, Mana was garbed in her Purifier uniform.

"_The Royal Purifier of Truth, at your service!"_

Mana quickly shifted into fighting stance. "I hope you're ready to flop!"

To the navy witch's great surprise (and annoyance), Kami actually started _laughing_.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, PLEASE," Kami laughed mockingly. "You think that's going to stop me?"

Kami immediately shot forward, using her free hand to lift Mana up by her collar.

"I've fought, defeated, and even slain Purifiers before. DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!"

Not wasting any time, Kami tossed Mana into the air, and as the navy witch came tumbling down, the 'Scarlet Shade' concentrated her dark power into a vicious aura blast that slammed Mana straight into one of the nearby pillars, easily crumbling it and forcing Mana out of her Purifier form.

"I'll take this boy as my prize," Kami stated. "Come back and try again when you've grown some guts, little girl."

"Don't you dare!" Mana shot back, standing up as best she could after being slammed by such a high-powered attack.

Kami just stuck her tongue out at Mana before disappearing with Satoshi.

"ONII-CHAN!" Mana screamed.

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"_And you call me overbearing."_

"I was bored. I need a toy. You understand don't you, Waltz-san?"

"_Be careful. If that boy's alikeness to his father beyond looks..."_

"I won't break him, Waltz-san. Though...he may be a pretty little crier just like his dad..."

"_Aw... How cruel, my apprentice..."_

"Whatever you say, Waltz-san. Don't worry... I don't plan on torturing him _too_ thoroughly."

Satoshi groaned as his eyes forced themselves open, Kami perking off and closing off the communication with Waltz as he struggled to get up.

"What...just...?"

"Morning," the scarlet witch greeted him casually like he _wasn't_ currently at her mercy. "Have a nice nap?"

"_You_!" Satoshi immediately backed into a tree, clearly cautious. "Who are you?"

"Your memory sucks."

The brown-eyed boy grimaced at that.

"I have a slight...mental... Um, never mind. Let's get to the point. You want my powers right? You can have them."

Kami raised an eyebrow.

"It's not as fun if you aren't begging for mercy and pleading for it all to just 'go away' like your mom would be if I threatened your dad."

Satoshi returned the gaze oddly.

"So you know my parents..."

"You really look like your dad, you know that?" She seemed wistful now for some reason.

He blinked in surprise, stammering a bit.

"A-Ah... E-Everyone says that."

The scarlet witch soon sighed, walking up towards Satoshi and lifting his chin with her forefinger, making him flinch and her eyes glimmered in notice.

"This sort of thing has happened before, huh?"

His heart pounded and he shut his eyes.

_Don't be reminded of her at a time like this..._

"Hmph. I should have known." She removed her hand with a sigh, shrugging. "I have no use for a fruit that is still unripe and able. It's so boring."

Satoshi only opened one eye, still cautious...though his mind was still fogged with images.

"But if I just take you back to your sister..." Kami began currently in thinking position. "Should I just have my way with you now? Or..."

The boy stared at her, gulping.

_I... I would appreciate it if she didn't... Otou-san would disown me for sure if that sort of thing happened..._

"Maybe I'll just leave you here to find your way back. There are a few obstacles... But if you're anything like your dad, you'll be fine."

Wait. Did she even know about his lack of navigational skills? Mana always said he had such a terrible sense of direction to the point where the physics of law and space-time seemed to rearrange themselves around him.

...It should be obvious now why his little sister was always the one with the map.

"Um... Actually... I..."

She gave him one last wave as she teleported away, leaving him all alone.

"I couldn't find my way to the park much less to Mana-chan..." Satoshi sulked a bit. "And we live right down the street from it..."

_Of all the things I had to inherit from okaa-san... I ended up with her poor navigational skills..._

"So are they north...or south... Perhaps it's east...or west?"

He looked around officially at lost.

"Am I even in a forest? They're trees, but maybe it's just..."

Satoshi sighed heavily, just heading forward.

"Well I don't like staying in one place too long so I'm just going to keep walking until I find something."

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_I have to find him..._

The girl ran through the grass, panting as she dashed, more than just desperate.

_I can't let this happen... I can't be alone like this..._

She shook her head, all too aware of the hot tears trickling down her cheeks.

_I can't just be expected to move on without her... I need his help... She won't survive like this...like that..._

"_Run."_ Her voice was clearly imprinted in her mind; she heard it so many times that she couldn't forget it ever. After all, she had a voice that her ears were practically attuned to hearing. _"Run away while you can."_

_I didn't want to... Stupid..._

"_Just get out of here!"_

_I'm going to save you, I promise! You... You won't have to worry! I'll absolutely save you!_

"_Just...leave... H-Hurry..."_

_Please don't leave me..._

"A..." the girl choked out, picking up the pace.

"_Arte_..."

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"Onii-chan... Where are you?"

Mana stumbled through the ruins, gasping.

"O-Onii-chan... Come back... Please come back... Sakura-chan... Anju-chan... ANYONE PLEASE HELP!"

"Mana-chan?"

The young night elemental perked up in surprise as she spun around, her navy eyes meeting familiar ceil-blue eyes belonging to a girl around Megumi's age.

"Ka...Kanae-chan...?"

Indeed it was Hakuta Kanae standing there, daughter of the ever tender Suzuki Akemi. A dancer like her mother, she had the same petite and lithe figure with long periwinkle-colored hair in high ponytails that seemed to spiral towards the end and ceil eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly, her voice worried. "You look as white as a ghost..."

Mana's eyes torn up as she threw herself in Kanae's delicate embrace, burying her tearstained face into her snow white dress shirt.

"S-Satoshi... Satoshi... We have to save Satoshi..."

"Satoshi-kun?" The periwinkle girl pursed her lips but held the younger one close, trying to calm her down. "There, there..."

"I-If she breaks him down completely... He'll be at her complete mercy... I-I can't... I just can't..."

"Mana-chan..."

Kanae frowned and hugged her tightly and comfortingly.

"It'll be fine..."

She glanced up and could have sworn she saw someone that looked like Megumi before rushing off. Kanae soon just sighed, looking back down at Mana shivering in her embrace.

_First things first..._

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"Sakura-chan, aren't Mana-chan and Satoshi-kun taking a while..."

"Satoshi-kun would probably be as lost as a stick, but Mana-chan's reliable so no worries!"

Anju looked back worriedly, sighing.

"Um... Alright..."

Sakura perked up, stopping.

"You don't think something happened...right?"

"P-Perhaps... But Sakura-chan, Mana-chan is a night elemental like her father, and Satoshi-kun does have those powers of his... But..."

_But neither of them are as durable as they seem to be._

"_Sakura-chan... Just never push them, alright?"_

"No..." she shook her head, grabbing Anju's arm and pulling her forward. "Let's go find Sango-chan..."

"O-Okay..."

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"All that trouble and you just let him go?"

"It was too early, Waltz-san... But are you really...?"

"No, not surprised."

Kami sighed, just shrugging it off.

"I was a little bored... I am a girl after all... And he was cute..."

"Something tells me your interest is a little bit more than that." Waltz smirked at her, and she turned away with a huff.

"Shouldn't you be focused on other things, Waltz-san?"

"Can I help that?" His grin darkened as he lifted her chin. "After all, you are, technically _my_ apprentice..."

"A girl." Her eyelids lowered dutifully. "A girl who's trying to save your butt from getting fried."

"Such a darling girl." Waltz patted her on the head. "I was making a good decision when I took you in. But, about that last link of yours..."

"He's still not ready. If he ever falls in complete love with someone, then his spirit will be that much more easy and fun to break."

"Ah, I see."

"Anyways... There's no worry." She removed his hand as she walked forward.

"At least he's his father's child, right? There's no way that..."

Kami smirked, a little confident in her thought process.

"There's no way he'd get so easily lost along the way."

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"...I know I already passed that tree at least five times."

Satoshi's eye twitched as he stared at said tree.

"How come it is that _even_ when I go _straight_... I still end up going in some sort of _circle_?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, more or less tempted to hit his head against something. Maybe the tree. Probably the tree.

"I hate being a lost idiot..."

Satoshi suddenly perked up as he heard a loud and sickening thump behind him, slowly and with old man speed turning around with a sinking horror.

"H...Huh...?"

His eyes immediately widened at the sight of a girl collapsed on the ground, covered in bruises and scratched with matted light pink hair in a ponytail held with a large velvet ribbon.

He recognized her automatically.

"MIRA?"

Satoshi quickly rushed to his cousin's aid, shaking her shoulder. "Mira? Mira, wake up! Mira... MIRA!"

Mira's violet eyes opened slowly, focusing on Satoshi's worried face.

"Sato...shi?"

She immediately was hugging him tightly, almost in a death grip.

"Satoshi, help me! I-It's Arte...!"

"_Arte_?" he whispered before returning the hug. "Hey... Hey... It's alright..."

"You have to help me save her, Satoshi! She's my _sister_! M-My... My durable _onee-chan_!"

"Mira..." Satoshi helped her up, Mira still clutching desperately to his arm. "Mira... Calm down, Mira..."

"Y-You're the only one I can trust right now... Please, Satoshi..."

Her cousin frowned but nodded.

_I guess Mana-chan can wait..._

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"You okay, Nick-kun?" Fujio Kashikoi asked.

Nick Kelly shook his head to try and clear some of the cobwebs out; what was that feeling that just passed through his head? "I... I wish I knew that myself, Fujio-kun..."

"You're just nervous," Leon Sokuryoku teased. "You wanna get home to your wife, don't you?"

"Don't flatter me, Leon-kun," Nick responded. "This weird feeling I just got... I think it has something to do with Momoko... normally, I can sense her aura from anywhere, even this deep in the Majokai... but now... her aura's all static... what's up with that?"

"You think she's okay?" Akatsuki Shidoosha asked. "Doremi-chan's been acting weird lately, too... you think it may be connected?"

"No way... you guys, too?" Tooru Kounna wondered. "You think it's a sickness?"

"Doubt it," Nick responded. "Momoko almost NEVER gets sick! This is confusing even me!"

"Okay, we should probably calm down and analyze just what the heck is going on," Kazuo Hakuta stated. He knew from personal experience how impatient Nick could be in matters like this. "Okay, so we know that all of our wives came down with something weird, but we're not sure if it's a sickness or something else. It's not affecting any of us for some reason either..."

"PLEASE don't tell me we're gonna be going in circles this whole time," Naoki Nakamura responded, "because I REALLY don't think that's gonna help at all."

"Okay, first things first, we need to figure out just what the hell is happening here," Nick stated. "I'm gonna go find jou-sama and see if she knows something."

And with that, Nick was off.

_Why is this happening?_ Nick thought. _And why is it only happening to the girls and not us guys? And... why does this feel familiar all of a sudden? Wait... that can't be._

After a while of running, Nick eventually made it into the throne room.

"Jou-sama? Are you here?"

"Right here, young one. What seems to be the trouble?"

Nick bowed to the queen, as was his instinct, but quickly rose, hoping to get right to the matter at hand.

"You know what's been happening to my wife and the other girls, right?" Nick asked.

The queen nodded. "All of the girls have come down with some mysterious illness, yet you are sure it is not a sickness."

"Exactly," Nick responded. "You really know how to hit the nail on the head. So, there's something I'd like to ask..."

"Anything."

Even though her face was hidden by her veil, Nick knew the queen had just smiled at him.

"Okay, jou-sama. Tell me everything you know about Malladus."

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"WHERE IS SHE?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Calm down, okay, Sakura-chan?" Anju responded. "I'm sure Sango-chan is around here somewhere. She's no straggler."

"What'd you call me?"

Anju spun around at this voice. Leaning on a nearby pillar was a girl about Anju's age. She had sky-blue hair that was tied into two long ponytails like her mother, strawberry pink eyes, and was wearing a blue shirt, a pink jacket, and jean shorts. A microphone was stashed in her pocket.

"You're lucky I LET you call me those silly names," Sango Hitoyama giggled, smiling brightly at Anju.

"Okay, Sango-chan, exactly HOW LONG have you been here?" Sakura asked.

"Two days. Mom doesn't mind, really," Sango answered. "I've been waiting SO LONG for a chance to do some real in-depth research on the ruins of Fortunas!"

"You just love your history class, don't you?" Anju asked. Sango just giggled.

Just then, an explosion resounded somewhere nearby.

"And THAT'S the stuff that usually spells trouble," Sakura stated. "Come on, girls, let's go check this out!"

And with that, the three girls rushed towards the disturbance.

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"Nothing over here, either," Kanae noted.

"Still no luck... onii-chan, where are you?" Mana asked nobody in particular.

"Hey, it's okay, Mana-chan," Kanae stated, hugging the navy witch. "We'll find Satoshi-kun. I promise."

Mana couldn't help but smile at that. "Let's go save my onii-chan."

With renewed vigor, the two girls shot off into the distance.

But it wasn't too long before the two encountered Kami again.

"Well, well, the elemental brat lives again," Kami taunted. "And she brought a friend with her."

"Not YOU again!" Mana growled.

"Oh, for crud's sake, ENOUGH with the random monikers," Kami groaned. "My NAME is Kami Akuko, the Scarlet Shade. Get it right, for crying out loud!"

"You'd better give my onii-chan back before I decide to rough you up!" Mana shot back, aiming her hands at Kami to back up her threat.

"Oh? And what could you POSSIBLY do to me?" Kami teased, laughing maniacally.

"_MAKURAYAMI!"_

Kami's question was rather forcefully answered as Mana blasted her point-blank with a Makurayami spell. The force of the attack knocked Kami straight out of the sky.

Once Kami recovered from the attack, she simply scoffed.

"Hmph. Not worth my time."

And Kami disappeared before Mana could fire off another spell.

"Who's the coward now, little brat?" Mana growled before rushing off.

"HEY, MANA-CHAN, WAIT!" Kanae exclaimed before rushing off to catch up with the navy witch.

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"Easy."

"She still kicked your butt, my apprentice."

"I let her. She's no threat to me. If only she knew what she was REALLY dealing with, she'd be running away full tilt."

"So, what should we do?"

"Initiate Unnecessarily Evil Initiative Omega 91."

"...what kind of name is that?"

"I'm a girl, okay? I LIKE weird names like that."

Kami looked behind her.

"What's wrong?"

"I thought I sensed something weird..."

Waltz just shook his head as the two of them disappeared from sight. Just then, Malladus appeared from the shadows.

"_I understand now."_

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"GUYS!"

"Not helping, Sakura-chan."

Suddenly, Anju skidded to a stop.

"What's up, Anju-chan?"

Anju looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the weird feeling she had just felt.

"Sakura-chan, do you or Sango-chan hear something?"

Sakura just shook her head, only to look up...

...and notice that hundreds of dark energy beams were thundering straight at them from the sky.

"Aw, crap."

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"So are you sure you came from this way, Mira?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Alright then..."

Mira clinged tighter to her cousin's arm, blushing a bit at being so close and it being allowed.

Satoshi, completely oblivious to the gesture much the same way his father used to be just looked about, frowning.

"I sure hope Mana-chan's alright... But I'm really worried something might happen to Arte..."

"Arte..." Mira murmured shakily, her grip tightening as she bowed her head, tears threatening to fall. "If anything happens to my nee-chan..."

"Don't worry; we'll definitely get to her in time." He smiled at her, making her blush deepen heavily. "So no worries."

"Thanks Satoshi. You're the best." The pink-haired girl smiled back, burying her face in his arm. "Thank you."

Though not really that dense, he had to blush.

"M-Mira, I have to help my family, right? But why are you and Arte all the way out here anyway? Shouldn't you be with your mom? Even okaa-san's really worried about Doremi-san..."

"I should be asking the same thing..." Mira murmured before shaking her head. "Arte and I... We were looking for something that could cure okaa-san, actually."

"Same here."

"Eh, auntie's sick?" the younger twin gasped, shocked. "She's usually so lively! Even livelier than okaa-san at times! That's why otou-san's always going on about how ironic it is for Saiki-jii-san..."

"She used to be lively... Now she hardly even speaks... I only saw her happy whenever she saw something that reminded her of otou-san..." Satoshi sighed.

_Normally, I hate how people go on about how much I look like my father, but it's the only thing that really made okaa-san happy..._

"They were really in love... So were our parents." Mira smiled sadly. "I know otou-san's the king and all, but do you think it'd kill him to visit okaa-san? Or at least let us live with him?"

"The Mahoutsukaikai's still a little dangerous, Mira... Maybe when things calm down a bit..."

"I know he has our best interests at heart... And Arte's always on his side too..." She sighed again, shrugging. "But I just don't know..."

"Both our fathers are hard to read." Satoshi had to laugh at that. "But I really do love them both..."

"They're twins just like Arte and me!" His cousin was giggling along with him. "It's so amazing, too... How otou-san reacts even in the most serious of situations!"

They both continued laughing for a while before they stopped at looked at each other, Mira blushing and looking away.

"Um... You're really amazing too, Satoshi."

"Not really." Satoshi smiled sadly. "You're way too flattering sometimes, cousin Mira."

_I swear, this girl really is something else..._

"R-Really, Satoshi..."

Mira huffed, puffing her cheeks in the same fashion her mother use to.

"Puuuuu!"

Satoshi blinked before looking ahead.

"Well, well... Let's keep looking for Arte."

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"GET BACK HERE!"

"MANA-CHAN!"

Mana looked about with a hiss, still infuriated before she stopped and screamed.

"COME FACE ME ALREADY!"

"Mana-chan!" Kanae reprimanded, finally catching up and yanking the navy witch back. "Stop that!"

"Let me go, Kanae-chan!" Mana thrashed about, groaning. "Let go! Let go!"

"STOP!"

"Kanae-chan..." she stopped, slumping a bit as she grimaced, shaking her head. "Nii-chan... What did she do to nii-chan anyway?"

"He wasn't with her... But who knows?" Kanae shook her head, pulling the younger girl close. "But there, there..."

"If she did anything to my brother... I swear, I'll do more than just kill her..."

Mana soon separated from Kanae, brushing off her arm before walking ahead.

_Nii-chan... Nii-chan... Nii-chan..._

Satoshi's smile flashed in her mind as tears welled up in her eyes and she fell to her knees, sobbing.

"N-Nii-chan..."

"Mana-chan!" Kanae gasped, rushing up to the navy witch as she fell forward, fainting then and there. "MANA-CHAN!"

"Nii..._chan_..."

_Where are you? I miss you..._

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"Well, what do we do?"

"Why are you asking ME that, Sango-chan?"

"Because you usually have an idea, Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura-chan, Sango-chan, that's enough!"

"Anju-chan..."

Sakura groaned as they all backed up together, their breaths quickening.

_This could be the end...and just in case..._

She shut her eyes tightly.

_Otou-san... I love you..._

With that, the beams shot towards them, only for a light shield to shoot up and block off all the excess energy, startling them.

"W-What?"

And with that, it faded as easily as it came, surprising the trio.

"What just happened?" Sango asked, looking about for whoever conjured up that shield.

"I... I have no idea..." Sakura answered, shrugging.

_But that was weird... Mana-chan and Satoshi-kun are nowhere in sight, so who...?_

Unknowist to them a figure watched from the trees with a bored expression before sighing and disappearing.

Anju perked up.

"Wait..."

"Anju-chan?"

"No..." she found herself saying, further confusing Sakura and Sango. "It's nothing..."

_What was that?_

"If you say so..." Sango replied before Sakura frowned.

"This is getting way weird."

"I'll say."

_...THAT VOICE?_

"RAI-CHAN!" Sakura squealed as they turned to face none other than Sokuryoku Raika who waved with a lop-sided grin.

"Heya! What's up?"

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"Mira, I think we're lost."

"But we can't be!"

"Yeah, we're lost."

Satoshi seated himself on a stump while his cousin panicked, looking here and there.

"But what if they're torturing Arte right now? Like tickling her stomach? ARTE IS MOST TICKLISH THERE AND ONLY I'M ALLOWED TO KNOW THAT!"

"Somehow, I doubt that's the case..." he sighed, balancing his head on his hand. "Please keep certain information to yourself."

"But Satoshi!"

"It can't help being lost, Mira. We just need to rest a bit..."

"SATOSHI!"

"Don't be like that, Mira. We're going to be fine and so is Arte. No need to worry."

"You saying that makes me worry more..." Mira's lower lip jutted out as she paced back and forth. "But my Arte... What's happening? This is just crazy... W-We've never been separated this long before!"

_What if she's hungry? What if she really is hurt?_

"Arte..." she whispered, her voice shaking. "Please, Arte..."

Mira spun to face Satoshi, only to turn surprised at the sight of his eyes closed, his lips lightly parted.

_He fell asleep? Well, I guess it's only natural for Satoshi to get worked up..._

She smiled sadly, approaching her cousin and parting the hair from his eyes.

_Stay strong, Sato. For the both of us._

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Raika Sokuryoku was the daughter of Leon Sokuyroku and Aiko Senoo. She had blonde hair that was done up in a hairstyle similar to her mother's. She had sapphire blue eyes and was wearing a blue sports jersey, racing shorts, and a cute pair of black Pumas she had inherited from her mother. Raika had also inherited her mother's great athletic skill, and tended to challenge her parents to all kinds of sports games. As with the good old days, Leon always seemed to lose. Aiko teased him relentlessly about it.

"Good to see you guys again!" Raika giggled. "How many years has it been?"

"It's only been a couple days, Rai-chan," Sakura responded.

"I knew that," Raika stated. "What a surprise, though, finding you guys in Fortunas, of all places!"

"Let's just say... we've got a bit of a problem," Sakura noted.

"Sato-kun went missing," Raika stated easily.

"How'd you know that?"

"I'm just good like that," Raika giggled.

"Do you know where he might be?" Sango asked.

"Not a clue!" Raika responded cheerfully. This caused the other four girls to sweatdrop.

"All we know is that someone named Kami took him somewhere and now he's hopelessly lost," Anju explained.

"Hopelessly lost?" Raika noted, suddenly realizing something. "That probably means he's in the Forest of Illusion!"

"The what of _what_?" Sango wondered.

"The Forest of Illusion," Sakura responded. "People in Misora have been talking about it for years. They say that anyone who enters will never return."

"Probably because they all got lost or something!" Sango shouted. "That place is supposed to be like a gigantic maze-slash-labyrinth thing that's absolutely impossible to navigate!"

"And knowing Sato-kun and his bad sense of direction, he's probably stuck there right now," Raika answered. "So what are we waiting around here for? Let's go find Sato-kun!"

It didn't take much for the others to agree to this, and so, the quintet set off for the Forest of Illusion.

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"...and that is basically how it happened."

Nick nodded, absorbing all of the information that the queen had just given him. "So, basically, even you're not sure what's going on, but you ARE sure that Malladus has something to do with it."

The queen nodded.

"You must keep your guard up, Nick. The Demon King Malladus is not someone to be trifled with. His power dwarfs that of even the Delegates of Darkness you once fought. Be careful when dealing with him."

"No problem, jou-sama. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go check on my sister."

With that, Nick raised his wand, chanted a few choice words, and teleported away.

"Ooh, that Malladus sounds scary," Shiro Yamasaki stated from nearby.

"He was the Great Demon King of the myths," Saiki Shidoosha responded. "A dark power like that is enough to give even ME the jitters..."

"You should learn to relax, otouto-chan," Akatsuki laughed.

"Don't call me that, onii-chan!"

"I just hope the kids are doing all right..." Fujio stated.

"You need to relax, too, Mr. Notepad," Leon teased. "I'm sure the kids are fine, especially if they take after us, of all people..."

"And THAT is what worries me..." Kazuo noted.

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Yuki looked up from her bed, still feeling lousy but overall much better than when she'd collapsed before. She'd sensed something odd, but couldn't quite pinpoint it in her weakened state.

Before she could even make a query, Nick teleported in.

"Nick-kun!"

Nick couldn't help but smile. Even after all this time, his younger sister was still as adorable as ever.

"Hey there, twilight princess," Nick stated, leaning down and kissing Yuki's forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Still kinda ick, but a lot better than before," Yuki responded. What Nick didn't know was that Yuki had just had a rather crazy nightmare right before Nick had arrived. His mere presence was starting to calm her down quite effectively.

"The last thing I remember was greeting Mana-chan and Satoshi-kun when they came home, and then my stomach felt like it was going to explode. That's all I remember about what happened to me..."

"Geez, that must have been rough," Nick noted. He knew what that felt like.

"Do you know anything about what's been going on and why I'm so sick all of a sudden?" Yuki wondered.

"The boys and me just spoke with jou-sama, and while we don't know what kind of sickness you and the girls have, we learned that someone named Malladus is behind this."

"Malladus?" Yuki queried. "The Great Demon King Malladus? I thought he was just a myth..."

"You've heard of this freako before?" Nick asked.

"Remember when we were younger? Before we went to Christina Island and we read our father's journals?" Yuki answered. "One of the passages I'd read mentioned something about a Demon King Malladus. The legend states that Malladus was a demon of unbelievable evil power. The gods fought him for many years, but for some reason, they couldn't defeat him entirely. So, what they did was, the gods forged a sort of lock and chain mechanic to keep Malladus sealed away. The lock was something called the Amulet of the Worlds, and the chain was the Tower of Spirits, which is hidden in the Forest of Illusion. As long as those two artifacts are stable, Malladus can't break out."

"That's why I don't think this sickness hitting the girls is natural," Nick continued. "It must have something to do with whoever or whatever's trying to break that lock and release Malladus. I'm willing to bet that's what Sakura-chan and the kids are looking into..."

"I'm still worried about them, Nick-kun," Yuki responded. "It feels like they're in way over their heads... but if the kids are anything like you and I were when we were younger, that's not going to stop them, is it?"

Just then, Yuki flew into a violent coughing fit. Nick instantly wrapped his arms around her, helping her ride it out.

When Yuki stopped coughing, she looked up and noticed Nick rubbing her back just like he used to, which was definitely helping her. "You okay, sis?"

"That... was a whopper," Yuki breathed. "I think I need to get some rest, okay?"

"You just lie down, then, all right?" Nick continued, letting Yuki cover herself up.

"Do you have somewhere to be, Nick-kun?" Yuki wondered.

"Not until they need me," Nick responded. "Until they call on me or something like that, I'll be staying with you for as long as you want me to, okay?"

Yuki couldn't help but smile at that. "Just like the good old days, huh? I really missed you these past few years, Nick-kun..."

"I'm sure Saiki-kun's been keeping you busy, huh?"

"Even so, I never stopped thinking about you... I love you, Nick-kun."

Now that was a phrase Nick hadn't heard in a while. Even though Yuki always said it in the letters she'd written to him, it had been a while since he'd heard her actually say it.

"I love you, too, Yuki-chan."

Nick leaned down so he could hug his sister. Yuki smiled before returning the heartwarming embrace.

A few minutes later, Yuki was all covered up and dozing peacefully. Nick was still in her room, keeping a constant vigil over his sister.

As he watched Yuki sleeping like an angel, his mind flashed back to a conversation he and Saiki had not long after talking to the queen about Malladus. He recalled how the instant he'd mentioned Malladus, Saiki had gotten all grumpy and peeved about the subject. Nick and Saiki were good friends now, but there were still occasional times where they'd get on each other's nerves over the silliest things.

Nick looked back at his sleeping sister, then out the bedroom window towards the setting sun.

"Saiki-kun... I don't know what crawled up your back and died. But it's gonna come out sooner or later, you know that. It'd be in your best interests, I think, for it to be sooner."

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"So do you think we'll find her, Satoshi?"

Satoshi was still asleep, lightly muttering as Mira stared at him, a light blush forming on her face as she approached her elder cousin, gulping.

_He really is handsome... Like a sleeping prince or something... I can see why okaa-san married otou-san, too... He may look like jii-san mostly, but I can definitely see some of my father in those features..._

Mira took a deep breath before shaking her head like crazy.

_Oh come now, Mira! Keri-chan's probably kissed him dozens of times so one little peck on the lips won't kill him! There's nothing wrong if we're cousins or not! So do your best, me!_

She leant a little closer towards Sato, puckering her lips.

_Okay, just do it like okaa-san does... Close your eyes, yes... Lean forward, got it... Just a little more..._

"Seri... _Célestine_..."

Mira's eyes shot open as she backed away, her heart pounding.

_..."Célestine"?_

Satoshi lightly groaned, fidgeting a bit in his sleep. "Mana-chan... Okaa-san... Arte..."

His cousin let out a sigh of relief.

_O-Oh... Silly me... He's just worried about everyone he hasn't seen yet... Of course he's worried about Mana-chan, jou-san, and Arte... But then again..._

Satoshi's eyes then opened. "Mira?"

"O-Oh, Satoshi!" Mira had time to exclaim, nearly having a heart attack in the process. "Good morning!"

"Mira, what...?"

"SA-TO-SHI~!"

Mira's eyes popped wide and Satoshi merely looked up to see someone sitting on the branch with a wide grin.

"Keri-chan..." the pink-haired girl muttered in slight annoyance while her cousin gasped.

"C-Célestine?"

Célestine beamed, hopping down and cupped Satoshi's face delicately, brushing her lips to his, earning a deep blush.

"_Bonjour_, mon _chéri_."

Mira fumed while Satoshi laughed nervously.

_She stole my idea... That Keri-chan!_

Célestine Yamasaki, better known as 'Keri' among the girls who had difficulty pronouncing her French name save for Satoshi, is the daughter of Shiro Yamasaki and Kurumi Sayoko. Like Satoshi for his father, Keri was often praised for looking like her mother from the long black hair that was held back by a white headband ribbon to her mature figure. While the only one who was actually Satoshi's age, Célestine was a 'model-in-training' as Kurumi called it, able to speak fluent French, and hilariously enough had her father's habit of flirting. The one she threw these affections towards was mostly, if not always, Satoshi.

In fact, the young 'last link' couldn't _count_ how many times Keri had shamelessly kissed him, whether it be on the mouth or not.

"You've gotten so much cuter, Sato~" she purred, tickling him underneath his chin as she placed another warm kiss on the corner of his lips. "Ooh, if such things were possible... Right, right, _mon _kawaii ouji-sama?

"Célestine, really..." Satoshi pushed her away, though was still quite blatantly flustered. "Why are you here?"

"I can't see Satoshi just because I miss him?" Célestine winked, giggling. "That and I wanted to see what you and Mira-chan were up to all together without Arte-chan there."

_After all..._ She added mentally with a slight sigh. _I'm already confused as to how Sakura-chan, Sango-chan, and Anju-chan got into that little mess earlier... Not to mention that strange power I felt, as well..._

"Arte's missing, Keri-chan." Mira informed her, stepping in front of her cousin and Célestine. "Satoshi's helping me find her."

"Oh, sou ka, sou ka!" Keri giggled, clapping her hands. "Allow me to help! After all, I actually know how to get out of this dank and boring forest."

"Really? That's great!" Satoshi sighed with relief. "I thought we were going to be stuck here all day..."

Mira frowned. _Keri-chan... There's always a catch with you, isn't there? Do you just want more time with Satoshi?_

"Of course, of course... I just want another kiss first, kay?" The black-haired girl pecked the side of Satoshi's face before he could say anything and took his arm, leading him ahead. "Let's go~!"

"Keri-chan, can't you keep your lips to yourself for one second!" Mira exclaimed in annoyance, chasing after them both. "Keri-chan, Satoshi, wait for me!"

_I really am so unlucky~!_

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"Okay, Mana-chan... Rest here..."

Kanae set the young night elemental down, sighing. "There..."

"Kanae-chan, greetings."

"Hmm?" she turned behind her and turned relieved, immediately beaming. "Megumi-chan!"

Megumi smiled meekly before frowning at the sight of the fainted Mana, taking a deep breath.

"I shouldn't have left them..."

"Huh?" Kanae looked confused and her long-time friend merely shook her head with a sigh.

"Nothing. How can I help you, Kanae-chan?"

"Oh. Um, can you gather some herbs for Mana-chan here?"

Megumi only grinned. "Sure thing."

_I should probably help cute little Mana-chan while I still can._

"Thank you, Megumi-chan."

"Oh it's nothing, Kanae-chan!"

Kanae's smile disappeared as she watched Nakamura dash off.

_Megumi-chan..._

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"I still can't believe I managed to win over Moriko-chan after all these years... Is it weird to still be thinking about that?"

"At a time like this, Naoki-kun. Yes it is."

Naoki grimaced as Kazuo pushed up his glasses.

"You're amazed you won over Akemi-chan though, right?"

Judging by the sudden flinch his glasses-wearing friend made, obviously.

"I wonder how Akio-kun and Kazuki-kun are... I know Hana-chan still has a crush on Kazuki-kun, but Akio-kun's still so obsessed with his work..."

"Naoki-kun, this isn't the time."

"Shoot yourself, Kazuo-kun."

Naoki inwardly grinned, momentarily remembering the stubborn pigtailed girl he met and fell in love with so many years ago.

"_You're never going to win me over, creep!"_

Takahashi Moriko really was something else.

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"I'm worried about the twins."

"I'm worried about my kids."

"Arte-chan and Mira-chan."

"Satoshi-kun and Mana-chan."

Akatsuki paused and Saiki copied the action as he turned to stare at his slightly younger twin.

"Don't you think that if you told Doremi-chan..." Saiki began, his voice soft. "Things would be better?"

"I do, Sai. Don't think for a second that I don't."

"I-I don't," the black-haired wizard stammered only for Akatsuki to mindlessly brush his hand against his cheek. "Onii-chan..."

"After all these years... You're still so cute..."

Saiki flushed red, a habit he still hadn't broke. Akatsuki smiled lightly.

_These feelings haven't changed either._

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"ARTE-CHAN~! YOO-HOO~!"

Keri looked about, making a 'huh' sound here and there. "Don't sense her anywhere..."

"Are we out of the forest yet, Célestine?" Satoshi asked, still looking about his surroundings and Mira trailed behind, still sulking at how Keri had ruined her 'quality time' with her older cousin.

_I hope we find Arte soon... I need my sister here! I'm going crazy!_

"We're still in the midst of it..." Keri began with a giggle. "But no worries, Satoshi, we'll get out of it soon!"

"I hope so..." Satoshi muttered in annoyance, rolling his eyes while the girl shot him a fond look though he was blissfully ignorant to this.

_Satoshi's so cute..._

"Arte..." Mira mumbled sadly, rubbing at her eye as she unknowingly stepped on a dark stone that began pulsing with an evil aura. "Hm?"

"Mira, something wrong?" her cousin wondered as he turned to face her before perking up in shock and horror once he sensed the energy. "Get BACK! That's a minefield!"

"Minefield...?" she repeated at the same time Célestine turned to see what exactly was going on as the small pink-haired girl was raised in the air, her eyes magenta eyes sparkling.

"MIRA!"

Mira felt some sort of wave in her head as she lolled off to the side, feeling woozy and dizzy.

"Sato...shi..." she faded away then and there, shocking them both.

"Mira!"

"No, Mira-chan!"

Célestine soon perked up as Satoshi only watched in horror at where his cousin disappeared.

_Is that...?_

"Satoshi-kun, where are you?"

_Oh, Sakura-chan. But Mira-chan already disappeared off somewhere..._

She grabbed Satoshi's arm, surprising him a bit.

"Célestine?"

"Sorry _mon doux_, but we still have work to do," Keri muttered darkly before they disappeared off together.

_I can't let Sakura-chan and the others take back Satoshi just yet._

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"Natsuki-chan, you there?"

"Haine-chan...?"

Natsuki perked up as Haine walked up, frowning as she did. "What's wrong?"

"Shouldn't we go save them?" Haine asked, making Natsuki perk up in surprise. "Those three, I mean."

"Haine-chan... Satoshi-kun and Mana-chan don't..."

"I'm not standing around, Natsuki-chan! I'll go on my own, but I want you to come with me just in case."

Silence.

"Haine-chan..."

"Please, Natsuki-chan. I'm worried. Our mothers are sick too, after all and it's frustrating."

Natsuki took a deep breath.

"Really, Haine-chan..."

"Please." Haine tried once again, her eyes shutting tightly. "Please, Natsuki-chan. Don't make me beg."

A few moments passed before Natsuki decided to finally say something, her voice shaking a bit as she did.

"F-Fine... Let's go."

Haine couldn't help but beam.

"Arigatou, Natsuki-chan."

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Nick looked down at his sleeping sister, then out the window of the Shinoya household towards the Forest of Illusion, where the Tower of Spirits rose like a deity into the skies above.

"Sakura-chan, whatever you do, just keep the others safe, okay?" Nick stated to nobody in particular.

Nick reached forward and smoothed down Yuki's frizzy hair.

"Is she okay?"

Nick didn't even need to turn around to know who that was. He could sense the power in this new aura.

"She's still a little sick, but a good few days of rest and she should be fine. It seems pretty unlikely of you to abandon your post at the Majokai so quickly, Saiki-kun."

Saiki just smiled. "Well, Yuki-chan IS my wife, and I've been worried about her ever since this whole mess started. So, any news from the queen?"

"Nothing yet," Nick replied. "She's trying everything she can to get some info on just what the hell we're dealing with here. I hope we can figure this out soon..."

"You're not the only one, Nick-kun."

Nick cast another glance at Yuki, smiling at how cute she still was.

"Did you find anything out, Saiki-kun?"

Nick turned around, only to notice that Saiki wasn't there anymore.

"Guess he had something to do..."

Nick turned back to Yuki, only to be met with a fist to his face.

Nick flew back from the impact of Saiki's right hook, slamming harshly into the wall.

"What the hell, Saiki-kun?" Nick exclaimed. "Why'd you slug me?"

"You still don't know the meaning of 'tact' even after all these years, Nick-kun," Saiki growled. "Why did you mention Malladus? You know I don't like hearing that name!"

"Because I need to know exactly what we're dealing with!" Nick shot back, recovering himself. "Yuki-chan is still my sister no matter what happens, so when I heard that she got sick, I knew something was wrong! She rarely EVER gets sick! You know as well as I do that we can't cut corners when it comes to stuff like this!"

"Remember when we were younger, Nick-kun? When I read that page from your father's journals? That's an experience I don't ever want to relive!"

"But that's no reason to punch me, you idiot!" Nick nearly screamed.

Surprisingly, Yuki didn't stir at all during any of this.

"You still need to learn patience, Nick-kun," Saiki noted. "Fourteen years of being a father really hasn't increased your patience levels a bit, has it?"

"You wanna run that by me again?" Nick growled.

Saiki just shook his head, his hands brimming with dark energy, But just as he was about to charge straight at Nick...

"Saiki-kun, don't."

The night elemental was surprised to hear that coming from Nick. After all, the last time the two of them had gotten into a physical fight, hadn't a possessed Yuki nearly killed Nick?

"Look, buddy, I REALLY don't want to get into another fight, especially not after what happened back on Abel's Ark," Nick stated, not wanting to remember the horrific events that had passed on Abel's Ark so long ago.

"You still remember that, Nick-kun? Even after sixteen years?" Saiki wondered.

"What happened up there is STILL imprinted on my mind," Nick answered. "That's why I tried so hard to be your friend after all that. I don't ever want to go through something that horrific again..."

Nick cast another glance towards the Forest of Illusion, where the Tower of Spirits could be seen prominently. "The only reason I asked jou-sama about Malladus is because he's obviously the prime suspect in all of this: the girls getting sick, the odd weather patterns, those mysterious events all over the world, EVERYTHING. Someone, somewhere, is trying to destroy the Tower of Spirits and resurrect Malladus. I don't want that to happen. We've kept this world peaceful for so long, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to handle Malladus. He's WAY stronger than I'll ever be..."

Saiki smiled at that phrase. "Yet that fact has never stopped you before, has it? You've prevailed against some of our time's worst villains: Tabuu, the Delegates of Darkness, Dark Gaia, Yami, Dark Spirit, and that's just for starters. They've all been stronger than you in one way or another, and yet you never let that fact bring you down. You pulled through. That's honestly one of the things I've always admired about you. You never give up hope, even when it's hopeless. You've done so much just for the ones you love. And that's nothing to sneeze at."

"And Fujio-kun always said that **I** tend to overanalyze things," Nick teased. Saiki had a good laugh at that.

"Well, I'm gonna head back to the Majokai and see if jou-sama found out anything," Saiki stated. "You gonna stay with Yuki-chan for a while?"

Nick nodded. "Until I'm needed, I'm not leaving her."

"Take care of her, then."

And with a quick chant, Saiki teleported away.

Nick sat back down by his sleeping sister, continuing to gaze towards the Forest of Illusion.

"You okay, Nick-kun?"

Nick looked at Yuki. "I should be. Why?"

"Didn't you and Saiki-kun just get into an argument?"

Nick visibly tensed at that. "It was mostly just verbal. I did take a right hook to the face, though..."

Yuki giggled at that. "Some things never change, do they?"

"You should get some sleep, Yuki-chan. That way I won't go crazy worrying about you."

Yuki just nodded, leaning forward to kiss Nick on the cheek before falling back to sleep.

_I've got this really bad feeling that the kids might be in trouble,_ Nick thought. _In what kind of trouble, I can't be sure. Just keep everyone safe, okay, Sakura-chan? I know you're good at that._


	2. Act 2: A Penny For Your Thoughts

Act 2: A Penny For Your Thoughts

"YOO-HOO! SATO-KUUUUUUUUN!"

"Jeez, Rai-chan, you don't have to scream so loud..."

"My ears! MY EARS!"

"Sheesh, Sango-chan, be overdramatic, why don't ya?"

This was only some of the many things being said as Sakura, Raika, Anju, and Sango began their journey through the Forest of Illusion in search of the two younger night elementals.

"Jeez, you have some powerful lungs, Rai-chan," Sakura noted, her eyes swirly.

"I pride myself on my awesome voice," Raika giggled.

"Um, girls, shouldn't priority one be finding Satoshi-kun and Mana-chan?" Anju asked. "As far as I know, both Shidoosha kids got themselves lost in this place..."

"I can't blame them. This place is a leafy DEATHTRAP!" Sango exclaimed.

"And again with the dramaticness..." Sakura sweatdropped.

"It's more interesting that way."

All four kids spun around at this new voice. Floating in front of one of the more elegant trees was Kami Akuko herself.

"And who are you?" Raika asked, instantly shifting into battle stance.

"The name's Kami Akuko, a.k.a. the Scarlet Shade," Kami answered. "I ran into your friends earlier, and they didn't prove to be much of a challenge. So, I figured I'd scope out the rest of the competition."

"You've got some nerve, little missy," Sakura responded, covering herself in a bright cocoon of light and coming out in her Purifier uniform.

"_For someone who's ready to grab life by the short shorts and take the world head on... the Quartz Purifier of Sweetness, at your service!"_

"Don't make me laugh," Kami giggled. "I told the other one that I've fought and defeated tons of Purifiers in my life. You, my little girlie, are no different."

Sakura just shook her head. "I'm not like those other Purifiers. That's because you haven't seen ME in action yet."

Sakura quickly summoned Suzumebachi and charged straight for Kami.

"Ah, so this will be interesting after all."

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"Célestine, what was that for?"

"Shush!"

Keri pressed her finger harshly on Satoshi's lips, though she shuddered at the contact. But no, now was not the time to start doting on him.

"You want your cute cousin back?" she asked, pressing herself against him, earning a deep blush and a few stammering. "Then _trust_ me."

Satoshi shut up pretty quickly and just nodded.

"Good boy," Célestine whispered tenderly, pecking both of his cheeks. "Now, let's go."

"One last thing."

She stopped dead in her tracks, glancing towards the now uneasy last link who looked down with glimmering brown eyes.

"Why... Did you teleport us earlier? When Sakura-chan and the others... Er..."

Keri's eyes widened.

_He knew?_

"...Mon chéri, can I answer and ask a question of my own?"

Satoshi perked up and nodded, signifying it was okay.

"I didn't want to be separated. As simple as that... Now for my question, why did you let me take you when you knew Sakura-chan was close?"

He blinked once before sighing.

"I don't know. Let's leave it at that and find Mira. Arte too."

"How cute... Alright, let's go. This way!"

Satoshi briefly smiled before Mira's smile flashed through his mind.

_Just you wait, Mira... We'll save you. We'll definitely, definitely save you and Arte._

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Kami smirked, easily catching the blade in her hands, making Sakura automatically perk up.

_Wait... Have I see this before?_

"That wasn't a smart move," Raika noted while Sango blinked.

_Wait a minute..._

"Sakura-chan..." Anju began to say just as she was brutally shoved back by a crimson energy.

The Scarlet Shade chuckled, licking the blood off her hands where she caught Sakura's weapon as she pushed herself up, shaking her head to clear her mind of what just happened.

"Give me a break. Your form was off and easily avoidable. Who do you learn from? That person is an idiot."

Sakura growled at that and Kami raised one eyebrow before nonchalantly waving her hand in a 'come here' motion.

"Well, go ahead. Prove yourself. Though that adorable last link still outdoes you so I guess it's hopeless."

The Quartz Purifier immediately turned surprised.

"The last link? Who?"

"What? You honestly don't know? I'm talking about your cousin... Not the bratty one, the impossibly cute one."

Sakura blinked, trying to understand.

_Okay... So... She's talking about Mana-chan, right? Mana-chan can be impossibly cute from time to times but I wouldn't call Satoshi-kun bratty..._

"You know what? This is boring."

Sakura immediately snapped out of her confusion, taking no time to quickly swipe at Kami though she ducked out of the way.

"Oh, now this is more like it!"

"Hold still!"

"Touchy, touchy. You're like your father."

Kami smirked as she continued dodging.

"I was told about you and the others, you know... How interesting, though I must admit I'm not easily amazed. So it's good for you but kinda sad for me."

Sakura was almost tempted to question why. She nearly dropped her sword though when she noticed Kami's eyes glow a deep red and jumped back.

_She's not grown. She's not even ready quite yet. Killing her now would be a waste... And would be much too boring. Besides, Waltz-san probably needs me now._

"I'll admit defeat for now, missy. But you'll see me again. Ciao."

"W-Wait!" Sakura exclaimed as she rushed forward, only to be stopped by the crimson-eyed girl driving her foot into her stomach, making her revert back to normal, falling backwards in shock.

"You're not your father, girl. You need to find your own strategy and use it to its extent."

Her weapon disappeared as she pushed herself up only to cough up blood, Sango and Anju rushing to her aid.

"Sakura-chan!"

Kami smiled briefly.

"Here I thought you'd all be together by now. My bad."

She teleported away and Sakura winced.

"W-Wait... Akuko..."

"Sakura-chan, don't push yerself." Raika walked up, resting a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Rest."

"R-Right..."

_What just happened?_

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"Enlighten me, my apprentice. For what purpose did you go after those brats?"

"Boredom."

"You need a tighter leash..."

"And you," Kami slapped his hand away, earning Waltz to merely smirk. "Need to keep your hands to yourself."

"It's not my fault... You are just too precious at times, my dear girl. But I am curious about your newfound obsession with the last link."

She said nothing as his smirk widened.

"Don't tell me... Have you fallen in love with him?"

Kami laughed, the sound almost demonic.

"Give me a break, Waltz-san! Me fall for a weakling like that? He has a long way to go to win my heart, although..."

She walked forward, folding her arms behind her back cutely.

"His fragility...just makes him that much more fun to play with."

"What about the two twins? We finally got the younger one, but the second she was captured..."

An explosion sounded in the distance, and Waltz sighed.

"The older one got a little restless. Oh look, she escaped."

"Malladus-san will be displeased." Kami groaned. "I'm not in the mood to chase her, Waltz-san."

"Understandable." Waltz took out a phone-like object. "I'll dispatch the dark creatures right away."

"Wonderful."

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"GET AWAY!"

Dark purple energy swirled about, ripping through the black demons before there was a flash.

_I gotta get out of here... Mira... Sorry!_

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"_Satoshi... Satoshi?"_

_Mana looked about the desolate forest, walking shyly._

"_Um... Onii-chan? Onii-chan! Where are you?"_

"_Mana-chan..."_

_Mana immediately perked up, spinning to face the direction of that voice._

"_Brother? Brother, is that you?"_

"_Mana-chan."_

"_ONII-CHAN!" she exclaimed, immediately dashing into that direction. "SATOSHI!"_

"_Mana...chan."_

"_SATOSHI!" Mana reached out only for white to shoot through her visions, blinding her, suffocating her..._

"_N-No..."_

Mana's eyes shot open.

"Mana-chan, you're awake!"

"H-Hey there, Mana-chan? You alright?"

"Kanae-chan... Megumi-chan?" Mana winced and held her head, Kanae pressing her hand against the younger girl's cold forehead.

"Calm down... You still need to rest..."

"Satoshi..."

"Satoshi-kun should be fine," Megumi stated firmly, earning Mana to frown.

"Megumi-chan... Why are you...?"

"I'll explain when you finished resting."

Much too tired to argue, the young night elemental just closed her eyes.

_Satoshi...nii...chan..._

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"I'm worried about Mira...and Mana-chan."

"Oh yes... How is our adorable sister?"

_Our?_ Satoshi wondered weakly before shaking his head. "She's... I hope she's alright..."

"Well, she actually knows how to navigate, mon lapin." Célestine laughed. "She'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Mon _chéri_... Mon _doux_, mon _cher_... Mon..."

"Enough with the French."

Keri rolled her eyes.

"But they say it's the language of love, sweetheart."

"We're not..." Satoshi cut himself off. "L-Let's just hurry!"

"Just remember, Satoshi!" she cheerfully laughed behind him as she skipped to catch up. "I ALWAYS get what I want! You know it's pointless!"

And Satoshi cursed himself for blushing.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"So, any ideas, Waltz-san? We need to find the Amulet if we're going to storm the tower and release the master."

"Patience, my dear. We need to get those pesky Ojamajos out of the way first."

"Malladus-san has his hold on them. It's the kids that I'm worried about."

"Why are YOU worried, my dear girl? They can't hold a candle to you."

"It's three of them in particular: the young night elemental, the quartz girl, and the last link. I've just got this weird feeling that if anyone can defeat Malladus-san, it'll be those three. That's why I think our first move should be to focus on them. The others don't really matter."

"You've definitely thought this through."

"Hey, a girl needs _something_ to do when she's not planning to take over this pathetic world, right?"

"True, very true."

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"That little bitch..." Sakura cursed.

"Language, Sakura-chan," Anju responded, helping the quartz witch to her feet.

"'You're not your father'," Sakura growled. "Who does that little girl think she is?"

"She was quite powerful, Sakura-chan," Sango answered. "Remember what we studied on the Mystia effect?"

"You mean how to judge someone's magical strength by reading their aura?" Sakura wondered. "I had a hell of a time trying to figure that out..."

"Yeah, that girl just freaking radiated power. She would have wiped the floor with you regardless," Sango noted.

That simple statement caused Sakura to spin around. "So, what, you're saying I'm weak?"

"No, that's not what Sango-chan meant..." Anju stated.

"Look, everyone expects me to be as strong as my father was, but people keep branding me as a weakling!" Sakura shouted. "And I'M SICK OF IT! I'm so sick of people thinking I'll be easy to whip in a fight just because the general consensus says I'm a weak little girl! And now I find out my own FRIENDS think I'm weak?"

"Settle, Sakura-chan..." Raika chided, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder...

...only to get backhanded in the face by the quartz witch.

"I'm sick of being called a weakling," Sakura growled. "I can prove that I'm just as strong as my dad is! I just wish someone would BELIEVE me for a change!"

And with that, Sakura stormed off.

Raika was about to pursue, but...

"Let her be, Rai-chan," Sango stated. "Just give her time."

"I never said she was weak," Raika answered, close to tears. "I just didn't want her to get herself killed..."

Anju smiled, walking up and embracing Raika.

"Sakura-chan's always been stubborn, just like her father. Let's just give her a little time, all right? I'm sure she'll be okay."

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Back at the Kelly household, Nanaka and Asami were still watching over a sleeping Momoko.

"I'm getting a little worried about them," Asami stated. "They're taking way too long..."

"Relax, okay, Asami-chan?" Nanaka answered, patting Asami on the head. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

Asami couldn't resist hugging Nanaka at that.

"You're a sweetheart, you know that, Nanaka-chan?"

"Haruka-mama says that all the time."

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Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts as she continued through the forest alone.

Before she could think of what to say, something fell in front of her.

Taking a good look at what just appeared, Sakura realized it was an amulet of sorts. It was in the shape of a seven-pointed star, and it was mostly gold with a few traces of silver. There was also a beautiful ruby jewel in the center.

The instant the quartz witch picked up the amulet, she felt a strange rush of power.

"What was _that_?" Sakura wondered. "Eh. May as well hold on to this thing for now."

Sakura clipped the amulet onto her belt buckle.

"Well, well, if it isn't the weakling."

Sakura quickly became enraged and threw a punch straight towards Kami, but the Scarlet Shade just teleported away from the strike.

"What did I say, little girl?" Kami taunted. "You're not your father. You need to develop your own battle style."

"And you need to SHUT YOUR TRAP," Sakura shot back. "I'm sick of people calling me weak just because I'm a girl. And that includes YOU, you little bitch."

Kami just grinned. "We'll see about that. You're still nothing like your father, you know that?"

"Why don't you come over here and try me?"

Kami just nodded, shooting forward at lightning speeds and putting her full force into her Lightning Punch.

The Scarlet Shade easily expected her unrestrained punch to at least break a few of the quartz witch's ribs...

...however, when Kami looked towards her target, there was no one there.

She glanced to the side, and noticed Sakura standing there with a grin on her face.

Kami was shocked beyond belief. _She... she dodged my attack? She couldn't do that before!_

"My turn."

Sakura wasted no time in delivering a roundhouse kick that knocked Kami into the air. Sakura began glowing as she prepared for her attack.

"_O, divinity that dwells within my fists!"_ Sakura chanted, striking her father's favorite fighting pose before leaping after Kami, turning into a blade of energy that easily and mercilessly juggled the Scarlet Shade further into the air. Sakura reappeared above Kami after this.

"Take this! _Mystic Arte, Infinitia Soul!_" Sakura shouted, slamming her glowing fist into Kami's chest, driving her into the ground with a burst of golden energy that shattered on contact with the ground, only adding to Kami's damage.

Sakura did a graceful flip backwards as Kami staggered to her feet.

"Try calling me weak NOW, you little brat," Sakura challenged, shifting into battle stance again.

"You... you BITCH!" Kami shouted, aiming another lightning-fast punch for Sakura.

Almost as if she could see it coming, and not noticing that her amulet was glowing, Sakura easily ducked the punch, and thrust her own fist forward, slamming into Kami's chest again. An audible crack could be heard.

Kami stumbled back, glad she could heal quickly. She'd definitely feel THAT for a while.

"Don't... don't think this is over," Kami growled before disappearing.

"Whatever," Sakura taunted before shifting back to her calm self.

"Okay, first things first. I gotta find Mana-chan and Satoshi-kun so we can all get out of this damn forest!"

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"Damn. You don't look too good, my dear."

For once, when Waltz laid his hand on her shoulder, Kami didn't slap it away.

"The bitch got me good. She found the Amulet of the Worlds."

"Oh, that can't be good."

"It gave her a massive power boost, but thankfully, she doesn't know how to unlock its full potential. So for now, we play it safe, and... AGH! Damn it..."

Kami clutched at her broken rib, obviously still in a lot of pain.

"Here, let me take care of that for you."

Waltz put his hand on Kami's chest, focusing some of his powers into a healing spell.

"There. Now you stay put while I go check on the last link."

And with that, Waltz disappeared. Now Kami was _really_ confused.

"What in the living hell was THAT all about? Waltz never cares for anyone but himself. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he actually LIKES me. Okay, this is starting to get really odd... but I guess I can't do anything while my ribs heal... I'll get that bitch yet..."

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"Mana-chan! Satoshi-kun!"

Sakura dashed through the forest, looking around desperately for her two cousins.

"Hey! Where ARE you two?"

_Man... I shouldn't have left Sango-chan, Anju-chan, and Rai-chan back there..._

She stopped, breathing heavily.

_Satoshi-kun... Mana-chan... Where are those two?_

"Oh, Sakura-chan? Greetings."

"Megumi-chan...?" Sakura perked up and Megumi looked confused.

"I... I didn't expect to see you here. Looking for Mana-chan?"

The quartz witch eagerly nodded.

"A-And Satoshi-kun..."

"He can wait," Megumi waved her hand. "Mana-chan's sick."

Sakura's eyes just widened.

_Mana-chan... She's sick..._

"Megumi-chan... Please..."

The green-haired girl perked up and Sakura gripped her arm.

"Please take me to Mana-chan right away!"

"...Okay."

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Satoshi's head snapped up.

"Dark energy. And a lot of it."

Célestine spun around, surprised.

"Eh, really?"

The last link shuddered and in seconds waves of energy surrounded them, rising menacingly. Keri gulped.

"Oh... Yes, really."

Satoshi looked up tiredly.

_Something's... Off... It feels like we were just here at the wrong place and at the wrong time... I... My head is spinning and it feels funny for some reason..._

"SATOSHI, MOVE!"

Satoshi barely had time to comprehend as Yamasaki's body slammed into his, shoving him out of way of a particular strike.

The black-haired boy's eyes widened.

_She's really warm... And that perfume..._

"Hey, get up, Satoshi! Don't go into shock on me now!" Célestine yanked him up by his hand, proceeding to spread her arms out so that she could protect him.

"C-Céles...tine."

Keri frowned and Satoshi looked around.

"Um... What's going on...?"

"We're being attacked, Satoshi! THAT'S what's going on right now!"

"Huh...?"

The dark energy soon rose, Keri wrapping her arms around Satoshi in order to protect him.

"Satoshi, stay close!"

"Hey, Céle...!"

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

Célestine's eyes shot open as dark purple energy swiped through the dark energy, soon attacking in a barrage as Satoshi looked up.

_There's only one person I know with that sort of power..._

The smoke subsided, a figure floating down with ever familiar light purple hair, Célestine's eyes widened.

"Mira-chan..."

"Wrong." She looked up with wide, obvious doe eyes, and Satoshi gasped.

"ARTE!"

Shidoosha Arte just smiled.

"Satoshi, Keri-chan... Long time no see."

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"Man... What's Waltz-san doing...?"

Kami sat down, holding her sides.

"I don't like to be kept waiting... It's boring~!"

Akuko puffed her cheeks. "What now? I'm so bored..."

"Ah, Akuko. You got injured."

Kami's head snapped up at the presence and sighed dutifully.

"Master Malladus... It was a simple result of my arrogance... It won't happen again..."

"For your sake, I hope not. Or Waltz's, for that matter."

Kami frowned at the mention of Waltz.

_I can think about that weirdo later... Though the fact that he healed me still bothers me..._

"Later, Malladus-sama."

Malladus smirked and disappeared, Akuko sighing afterwards.

"I wonder... What are Waltz-san's true motives anyway?"

_Is it just my power or..._

She shuddered, feeling no less freaked out and creeped.

_Aw man! I sure HOPE it's the first one! Sorry Waltz-san... But I like them...younger and more breakable..._

Kami quickly shook her head to get the detestable idea out of her mind.

_No... Just, no! Man... Waltz-san is so unpredictable though... He... I never know what he's thinking..._

"I sure hope he's alright..." she muttered out loud without thinking about it. "That guy..."

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"I have a feeling someone's talking about me..."

_Ah well. Probably nothing._

Waltz shrugged it off, continuing to watch over the last link.

"So the elder twin found them... And that girl..."

He smirked, observing how Arte ran into Satoshi's arms, shivering. "Hmm..."

"Please, Satoshi..." she pleaded, trembling. "Please help me..."

"A-Arte..."

"Mira's imprisoned, isn't she?" Arte looked up, her eyes glimmering. "Please... Satoshi..."

"Hey... At least we found you..." Satoshi ruffled Arte's hair. "Don't worry, we'll find Mira too."

Arte smiled brightly.

"Satoshi..."

Keri frowned but sighed, shaking her head.

_They're just cousins... No need to worry... Don't worry about it... Just... Just don't..._

"Huh..." Waltz chuckled silently. "Looks like my dear has some competition for the last link... Aw well... She'll be pleased..."

He soon shrugged as he vanished from sight.

_...Or is she ever?_

"Huh?"

Satoshi looked up, confused. Arte perked up.

"Satoshi."

"No... It's nothing."

_What was that? Someone I know..._

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

Before long, Megumi had returned to where Mana was resting, Sakura in tow.

"Oh, my god..." Sakura gasped, seeing Mana's prone and vulnerable form. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know what happened," Megumi responded. "I was just traveling with her after she got separated from the rest of the group, and now this..."

Sakura walked up to the shivering Mana, scanning her a few times.

"Let me try this," Sakura wondered, placing her hands on Mana's chest.

"_Soten kisshun, I reject!"_

Silver light washed through Mana's body, and when the light cleared, Mana looked much better. Still asleep, but she had a peaceful smile on her face.

"There we go."

"Very versatile, huh, Sakura-chan?" Megumi giggled.

"I am so glad otou-san taught me his healing spell," Sakura stated. "And the fact that Mana-chan's all right now means that Malladus didn't do this to her."

Megumi tilted her head to the side; an expression that Sakura couldn't dispute was undeniably cute. "Malladus? Um, did I miss something?"

"I'm not entirely sure, to be brutally honest," Sakura admitted. "But that name's been popping up in my head for a while now, and I'm willing to bet that whoever Malladus really is, he's the one that Waltz and that scarlet girl are working for. And I'm pretty damn sure he's the reason my mother's so sick, too."

"Wait a minute, I think I know who you're talking about now," Megumi realized. "The Great Demon King Malladus, right? That was something we studied in school recently. A lot of the students think that something like that is baloney."

"Even though so many more people are aware of witches and learning how to use magic now, right?" Sakura stated. "Yeah, someone in my class said that, too."

"If Malladus IS behind this, we should probably find the Tower of Spirits," Megumi stated.

Before Sakura could say anything to that, a massive explosion shook the area around them, causing Mana to wake up and wonder what was going on.

Not a second later, a few purple energy beams shot out from where the explosion occurred. Sakura and Mana instantly recognized that purple energy.

Their suspicions were confirmed when Arte shot out from the forestation, lobbing sphere after sphere of purple energy towards the same shadow creatures she'd been fighting off earlier.

"SATOSHI! Get over here and help me out!" Arte exclaimed, downing another shadow creature easily.

"You know I can't run as fast as you, Arte," Satoshi responded before hopping into plain sight.

This sight seemed to make Mana very happy. "Onii-chan!"

More shadow creatures came floating in, but Arte seemed very happy. "Time to try out that new trick I learned from otou-san."

Arte aimed her open hand towards the shadow creatures, and this simple motion created a purple vortex that sucked the creatures into it.

Arte then snapped her fingers and the vortex shrunk and eventually exploded in a flash of purple light.

Arte smirked. "Test run complete."

At that moment, Célestine shot onto the scene, doing a few jumping pirouette kicks to fend off more shadow creatures.

Keri was about to make a French quip, only to be knocked down by a much larger shadow creature.

"Crap..." Keri growled, closing her eyes as the shadow creature raised its bulky arm.

When she looked up again, she opened her eyes just in time to see the hulking creature be obliterated by a mighty double burst of Makurayami.

"Thanks for the save, Satoshi," Keri giggled, and Satoshi blushed at the way she said his name.

"Okay, save the blushy stuff for later," Megumi cut in. "We've got to find the others and get to the Tower of Spirits forthwith!"

Keri cocked her head to the side. "Wha?"

"To stop Malladus, of course!" Megumi exclaimed. "Now hurry up, Keri-chan! We've gotta find the others!"

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Yuki's eyes snapped open, surprising Nick.

"What's up, Yuki-chan?"

Yuki looked out the window, towards the setting sun. "The kids are in trouble, Nick-kun..."

"And you're surprised?" Nick teased. "Sakura-chan seemed to inherit my curse of having trouble find me no matter what I do."

"That's why I'm worried about them, Nick-kun," Yuki responded. "If they're anything like you and I were when we were teenagers, I'm sure they're all in way over their heads."

"Well, the problem is that we can't do anything until you get better," Nick stated. "So how about you just get a little more rest, and when you're feeling better, we can go after them."

"Please don't tell me they're looking for Malladus," Yuki asked.

_All right, I won't,_ Nick thought, knowing better than to say that in front of his sister. He knew Sakura and the others were trying to find a way to keep Malladus sealed so he couldn't wreak anymore havoc on the world.

"You know I'm just worried about them, Nick-kun..."

"I wish there was something we could do, Yuki-chan, but as long as you're bedridden, the best we can do is tough it out. Now why don't you get some sleep?"

"Could... could you cuddle with me?"

Nick couldn't help but smile at that. "You know I can't say no to you, sis."

Nick climbed into bed with his adorable little sister and cuddled up to her just as she fell asleep again.

_Just don't get into any trouble, kids. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to any of you..._

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"Let go of me, jerkoff!" Mira shouted, struggling against her restraints.

"Sorry, little one," Waltz sneered. "We've got plans for you."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Mira shot back.

"Simple," Kami giggled. "Take a look."

Mira looked around, but saw nothing but Waltz and Kami.

Just then, something emerged from the shadows, a massive creature of green and purple, a pig-like creature who had a passing resemblance to Ganon.

Mira's breath nearly stopped as she realized who she was looking at. "Malladus..."

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

Akatsuki perked up, dropping the teacup as it shattered to pieces on the ground.

_Oh..._

He blinked once and then proceeded to pick up the shards only for someone to slap his hand away.

"Careful, onii-chan. You'll cut your hand if you do that."

"Saiki-kun," he sighed once and Saiki narrowed his eyes. "Your hearing never ceases to amaze me."

"Don't you dare lie to me, brother." His brother paused before speaking again, his voice quiet. "Come on. Twins don't keep secrets, right? Born together, live together, die together. You're the one always saying that, nii-chan."

Akatsuki had to smile, shaking his head.

"And here I never once thought _you'd_ be the one saying any of it, Sai."

"Things change, don't they?" Saiki smiled, snapping his fingers to repair the teacup before picking it up and handing it over to his slightly elder twin. "Here you are."

"Thanks." Akatsuki blushed lightly, smiling in return. "You don't have to be here, you know."

"Onii-chan still comes first. Isn't running the kingdom too much work?"

"Maybe it wouldn't be for you, but..." The former older prince sipped at his cup. "I'm doing my very best, Saiki-kun."

"Otou-chan wouldn't expect anything less, wouldn't he?"

A pause.

"...No. He wouldn't."

Saiki smiled but frowned at the now melancholic expression on his twin's face.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just have a bad feeling is all... About the twins, I mean..."

"Arte-chan and Mira-chan?" The black-haired look-alike blinked before he just chuckled. "I always found it interesting how your daughters managed to be like us—identical in every aspect except the colors..."

_It's almost exactly like us..._

"Identical in every aspect? You don't look hard enough, my dear otouto-chan."

"Don't start on that again, nii-chan." Saiki snapped, clearly annoyed. "We are far from being kids... And it wasn't even 'cute' then."

"I distinctly remember a time where you got so scared that you cuddled into me like a kitten looking for its mother... Every time I called you that, you were incessant on snuggling." Akatsuki had to smile at the fond memory before he sighed.

_And now that I think about it..._

"You were so precious back then, Saiki-kun... You always looked at me with those adoring eyes and it made me nervous... You're not like that now, though..."

_You changed...quite a bit..._

There was a short bit of quiet before he spoke again.

"It kinda hurts."

_You used to be...so small..._

The slightly younger Shidoosha could only shuffle his feet uncomfortably, trying to hide the burning sensation in his face.

"I've always wondered what made you change from the terrified, delicate little boy that always looked towards me for guidance."

"...You were expected to be a great ruler. I had no such destiny, and not even otou-chan expected much of anything for me other than a simple 'extra'." He shook his head once.

_Yes... This is true... We were different even then..._

"You were surrounded by an entire kingdom that admired you and cared for you all the same. I wasn't so important, nii-chan. I was only a mere shadow."

_Nothing more, nothing less._

And before Akatsuki could say something or even merely protest the idea, Saiki quickly cut him off.

"That's what everyone believed and even I eventually starting thinking that as well."

_Eventually..._

The elder perked up at that.

_Now that I think about it... Back then, we weren't that close, either..._

"When dark magic first appeared, you remember don't you? I was complaining about my headache and was screaming and crying for it to stop. I thought I was going to disappear and shadow or not..."

The night element took a deep breath, shaking ever so slightly.

_And despite everything... The whole shadow mindset I had... I realized that..._

"I wanted to be_ living _and not_ just _**surviving**."

Akatsuki sighed.

_Oh, yes..._

"I remember. Oyijiide-san didn't know what to do with you and neither did father... But I held you, praying for the pain to go away..." He paused, and laughed a bit.

"It was the first time, really, that we were ever so close to each other..."

"Our lives were intimately entwined then. And I was scared of the darkness... But your presence washed the fear away... So I was always near you, always looking towards you..." Saiki soon trailed off and shrugged.

"Up until I figured out that it was because we were elementals, anyway."

Silence.

"I didn't want to be a bother on you, nii-chan."

"You weren't... You were just..."

"Another person who relied on you and caused you stress. I didn't want that. But... Of course..." The night elemental glanced at his brother, making him blink in confusion. "Nii-chan..."

"Saiki-kun... I..."

"You want to see Doremi-chan, don't you? You can leave if you want. I can handle the kingdom for you in the meantime."

Akatsuki looked surprised and his twin just smiled at him, the earnest feeling in his eyes sincere.

"We've done it once before and we are twins after all. Surely, no one would notice if we were to cast a spell and switch places."

The elder twin could only smile in return.

"Saiki... You're the best."

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"So tell me, Satoshi... What does Malladus plan on doing with my Arte?"

Satoshi frowned and Arte perked up, gulping.

"I-Is... Is it that body?"

"Malladus... He probably wants to use Mira's body as a vessel."

Arte's eyes jolted wide, her sister's face flashing in her mind.

"He can't do that! That's MY twin sister we're talking about here, Satoshi! If something happens to my adorable baby sister... I-I... I just... I just...!"

"We'll get her back, Arte!" her cousin exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders. "I swear, I'll die before I let anything happen to Mira!"

The elder twin sister just blinked.

"Ne, Satoshi... Do you like Mira by any chance?"

"Like her? Well, she is my cousin after all..."

Arte shook her head.

"You feel the same about me, right?"

"Of course... Though you two are different girls..."

Arte frowned but just smiled and pecked his cheek, making him flush red. "Thank you. But you don't quite understand yet, do you, Satoshi?"

"Understand..."

"NII-CHAN, HURRY UP!" Mana exclaimed, rushing in and dragging her brother after her. "We need to go save Mira-chan!"

"M-Mana-chan, hold up!"

Arte sighed heavily.

_I guess that at this point... It would be normal... If the one that Satoshi liked is Keri-chan... As distasteful as that is..._

She just smiled.

_As his father always said though... "Shikata ga nai"._

_It can't be helped._

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"So Megumi-chan, do you even have a slight idea as to where Haine-chan and Natsuki-chan are?"

"And Asami-chan and Nanaka-chan as well..."

"Kanae-chan, Anju-chan, stop worrying! It'll be fine, okay?"

"Megumi-chan..."

Keri could only whistle with slight amusement.

_Boy... Do I miss hanging out with these girls...weird, huh?_

"Megumi-chan, there is one thing I am concerned about."

Megumi stopped in her tracks, looking towards Sakura who was frowning.

"I have a feeling... That there are some things that you didn't tell us. I have heard of how your mother knew how to read some particular symbols that no one else could..."

Nakamura merely blinked with surprise.

_Sakura-chan... Why start mentioning okaa-san...?_

"It would be logical...to assume you inherited some of that gift, right Megumi-chan?"

_Ah..._

"...It would, wouldn't it? Sakura-chan..."

Megumi giggled.

"I have to admit, I'm rather surprised... Do you really think all of that, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura only nodded, and Kanae stepped up.

"Megumi-chan..."

Sango stood between them, Raika whistling.

"Well, Megumi-chan... Care to explain what else came from that little fairy tale you read about Malladus?"

Kanae casted her friend a pleading glance but Megumi only nodded, grinning now for some reason.

"Alright. Why not?"

Kanae soon frowned.

_Megumi-chan..._

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Sa... Satoshi... Mana-chan..."

Nick looked at his sleeping sister. She was still worried about her kids.

And he couldn't say he blamed her. All of the Ojamajos' kids, their own included, were all out on a quest to stop the evil demon Malladus from breaking out of his prison.

Nick didn't know much about Malladus, but he knew that the demon was much stronger than he was, and that was what really worried him.

He'd conquered some of the worst villains and psychos the world had known, and even now, he wasn't sure how he'd done it, since many of these villains were stronger than he was.

"Oh, Nick-kun, I can't take it!"

Nick looked back at Yuki, who was obviously now fully awake.

"My children are out there somewhere trying to stop some evil demon from breaking out! They could get themselves killed!"

"That's the same thing you said when Mana-chan and all those other kids got hijacked in the third grade," Nick teased, though deep down, he too was worried about the kids' safety.

"This is completely different, Nick-kun," Yuki continued. "I've been worrying about them ever since I got sick, and it's been driving me crazy! We need to go find them!"

Nick was about to tell Yuki that she still needed to rest (she had gotten over her sickness, but was still quite exhausted, an apparent side effect), but when he turned back towards her, he saw her eyes sparkling and opened wide.

Damn the puppy dog eyes. Never failed, did it?

"Okay, sis, you win. I'm worried about them myself," Nick conceded. "We'll go look for them, but I want you to stay close to me, all right? After what's been happening, I'm really worried."

"Just like the good old days, huh?" Yuki giggled. She quickly stepped out of bed and slipped on her shoes.

"Now let's go find our kids," Nick stated, taking Yuki's hands into his own. With that, they were off.

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"Let me go, jerk-faces!" Mira screamed, thrashing against her restraints. Waltz and Kami stood close by, watching in amusement. "I'm not going to be your damn puppet!"

"Okay, now she's starting to annoy me," Kami growled. "Waltz, restrain her."

Waltz nodded, holding his hand out towards the thrashing Mira, covering her in an eerie purple glow similar to Arte's and completely freezing her in place.

"Don't! Don't you DARE!" Mira shouted.

"Oh, just shut her up, Master Malladus," Kami groaned.

Malladus turned into a black mist and rushed forward, absorbing himself into Mira's body.

Mira struggled for a few seconds, but her body eventually went limp.

"Master," Waltz and Kami proclaimed, bowing respectfully.

Mira lifted her head up and opened her eyes. Her physical appearance had barely changed; though now her aura glowed a corrupted purple instead of its usual bright pink, and her eyes had become the eyes of Malladus.

"**Born again,"** Mira proclaimed. **"Such power... trapped... held slave by a child! But no more... I am free!"**

"With your power and the power of this girl, you shall have no trouble eliminating those pesky Ojamajos," Kami giggled.

"**But before we get to that task, there is something I need to discuss with the two of you,"** Mira continued.

"What is it, Master?" Waltz wondered.

Kami began to shiver, having almost instantly realized that Malladus was on to their plan.

"**I understand that you two were planning to betray me,"** Mira explained. **"Care to explain yourselves?"**

"Waltz-san, I think we need to leave. Like, NOW," Kami snapped.

"Not just yet, Kami-chan," Waltz responded, drawing his hands back and causing Kami to blush a bit. "I've been waiting for this chance for years, and I'm not going to let it slip by."

Waltz thrust his palm at Mira, unleashing a terribly powerful burst of dark energy, ready to rip apart his so-called "master" where he stood.

The only problem was that Mira simply raised a hand and swatted the attack away like it was nothing.

"**Pathetic,"** Mira stated. **"Perhaps this is what you were trying to do?"**

Mira raised her hands and unleashed countless bolts of blood-red lightning straight for Kami, who was too consumed by fear to move, terror rooting her to her spot.

At the very last second, Waltz hopped in front of the Scarlet Shade, taking the full force of Mira's attack.

"Waltz-san, you idiot!" Kami shouted, rushing up to her partner. "I could have taken that easily!"

Kami wrapped her arms around Waltz, fighting off the blush that made its way onto her rosy cheeks, and shot an intimidating glare at Mira before teleporting the both of them away.

"**Insolent fools. This world will be mine anyways. I don't need those two."**

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Arte perked up, a shiver passing through her body.

"You okay, Arte-chan?" Mana asked.

"I... it's nothing..." Arte responded.

_I don't like this feeling... what just happened?_

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"It was a long time ago, actually," Megumi started, drawing on what she'd learned about Malladus in school. "Like, a couple hundred years ago or so. During the first period of the witches, the spirits of good watched over the people of the world. However, this small period of peace soon came to an end when the evil Demon King Malladus appeared, seeking to destroy all the land."

"Ooh, freaky," Anju stated, shivering until Sango began rubbing her shoulders.

"The Spirits of Good came down from the heavens to battle this foe," Megumi continued. "They were successful in subduing the enemy, but they couldn't destroy him. Malladus was sealed deep beneath the earth, and giant shackles were forged and a huge Tower of Spirits was erected to maintain his seal. However, the power of the spirits was depleted during the battle with Malladus, and they ascended to the heavens, leaving the world, now bereft of spirits and demons, in the hands of the chosen people. As time passed, the chains used to bind Malladus became the inspiration for what we know as the train."

"Wait, so train tracks are being used to bind Malladus?" Raika wondered.

"Oh, not all of the world's train tracks," Megumi answered. "Just a very special bunch known as the Spirit Tracks. If those disappear, Malladus is gonna come back."

"We can't let that happen!" Sakura exclaimed. "We've gotta see if there's a way to restore the Spirit Tracks before it's too late!"

"How are we going to do that, though?" Kanae asked.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure of that myself," Megumi admitted. "But I DEFINITELY have reason to believe that if we're going to find the answers we need, those answers are probably going to be at the Tower of Spirits. Let's get going, peeps and cronies!"

(Written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"Célestine, do you even know where Mira would be?" Satoshi asked curiously as he approached the black-haired young model in confusion. "We won't be too late, right?"

Arte frowned.

"Mon cher, you worry just too much, you know that?" She smiled brightly and then tugged at his collar, pulling him close so that she could brush her lips with his.

"Stop worrying so much, alright?"

"Y-You stop that, Célestine!" the last link yelped as he quickly shoved her away, blushing profusely. "Can't you pick a proper time or place for that? I don't even like you like that!"

_This girl... She's always acting like that, too...!_

"You're just saying that because I stole your first kiss the second we met, right? How many times do you tell yourself that you dislike me anyway?"

_Though... Then again, now that I think about it..._

Keri suddenly laughed at the thought.

_It's really cute, but the fact is that..._

"That's the first time that you've ever pushed me away, Satoshi."

_It's a little strange._

Satoshi flinched at that, not reacting even as Mana gripped onto his arm, and a smirk curled around the slightly French ebony-haired girl's lips.

"Mark my words though, Satoshi. Once all this is over, you're going to be so head over heels for me that you won't know what to do with yourself."

And before he could even answer, his cousin did it for him.

"Keri-chan, don't be so conceited!" Arte exclaimed as she stepped in, huffing. "Don't act like you're the only one who likes Satoshi! Because you're not!"

_Mira likes him, and she still has a chance, so...!_

"Kami-chan...?" He wondered in confusion, a little lost as he thought of the scarlet-haired girl who smiled so brightly at the remembrance of his father.

_But she's evil, isn't she? I wonder... Her connection and why she's even with Waltz..._

"Nii-chan, just don't worry about it!" Mana stated, clinging tightly to her brother's arm, trying to distract him from the entire situation. "Keri-chan is just being Keri-chan, and um... Arte is being..."

_Oh man, this is bad..._

"Never mind! I just want my _imouto-chan_, alright? I'm scared! I feel like something's happened to her, and not knowing where she is or how she is... It's just driving me insane!" Arte soon pointed at Keri accusingly, glaring quite distastefully.

_And this one..._

"And you, Keri-chan...!"

_Always so high and mighty, always acting like Satoshi is yours!_

"You wouldn't understand... You _don't even have any siblings_!" Keri blinked at that, and Arte quickly continued. _And... And...!_

"And it's a shame, seeing of how you inherited that behavior that Kurumi-san always complained about when it came to your father!"

There was a heavy silence and Mana tugged uncertainly at Satoshi's arm as he stared blankly at Célestine.

Her navy blue eyes were blank.

_It's true... Mama always scolded me when I acted like papa did..._

"Shameful, huh?" she barely heard herself murmuring that oh so quietly. "That's a little correct, now that I think about it..."

_I'm being arrogant... But I can't handle the tenseness of the atmosphere so I'm always joking around... The only thing I really want from Satoshi is his smile, so..._

"Célestine?" Satoshi looked so, so confused.

_So...?_

Her heart just ached.

_How much trouble did papa go through in order to win over mama? Didn't she say that she decided to give him a chance on a pure whim?_

"Je suis desoleé, my dear Satoshi."

Satoshi blinked, his eyes slowly widened as he immediately did a mental translation at her words.

_I'm sorry._

With that, she spun around and quickly dashed forward. "We're almost there, so don't worry! Let's go save Mira-chan!"

Arte frowned and quickly sped ahead of her, much to Keri's surprise. "Oh, Arte-chan?"

_Is she still upset with me, or...?_

"She's my sister! I'm going to see her first, Keri-chan!"

_There are some things that I just can't take and she knows that! I have to hurry up and get my baby sister back!_

"Oh..." Yamasaki smiled, chuckling a bit under her breath. "Alright then."

_That's okay._

"Um..." Satoshi looked at his little sister in confusion, frowning as he did. "Mana-chan...?"

_I really don't understand..._

"It's a girl thing, Satoshi. No worries." Mana smiled sadly. "None at all."

_This is getting a little too troublesome..._

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"What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

Waltz just dusted himself, not even answering as Kami scowled at him, her face flustered with hands on her hips.

_I hate being confused like this...!_

"I know you're better now, so just answer me already..." She scoffed in annoyance before shaking her head. "It doesn't even make sense! We're together for benefits' sake!"

_Why would you even save someone that you're not even supposed to care about?_

"Well, it wouldn't exactly be to my benefit if Malladus had done away with you, my dear." Waltz didn't even look at her, but he crackled a bit anyway, sending shivers up and down her spine.

"That makes even less sense. If I remember correctly, beneficial partners like us aren't supposed to care about one another, much less sacrifice ourselves..."

_So why would you do such a thing for me? We still hardly know each other, and we're not even friends...!_

Kami wet her lips at the thought, frowning. "Sheesh. You're not making any sense. Is this just your way of messing with me?"

No response. One really wasn't needed as the scarlet-eyed female brushed some of her hair behind her ear, blushing oh so slightly.

_I hate this..._

"So what? We've gone from beneficial to strictly professional now, right Waltz-san?"

_I don't like this situation...!_

Silence.

"...What are we going to do now that Malladus knows about us? Lay low, let those brats take care of them, and then strike them down later? That sounds so damn cowardly."

Waltz paused a bit, looking at her in confusion as Akuko sighed lightly.

"Aren't you tired of going after the same person over and over again? When things get repetitive, it gets boring and I hate that."

_But I know that my chance of having a 'normal' life is completely out of the question... I've killed too many people for that._

"I'm tired, Waltz-san, and I don't know what to do anymore." She looked down shamefully. "I can't just chase after something over and over again. I'm not insane like you are..."

_However, I will not let myself overlook those times you helped me so easily._

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to get Malladus back for what he did to you, to us." Kami soon smirked at him, beaming with a confidence that he had only seen once in the Shinoya girl.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and to be honest, I still have a soft spot for that last link... So why the hell not? After this, we can go back to plotting to kill them... But not for too much. We need a new direction from here, or at least a few backtracking or something..."

And finally, Waltz just _laughed_.

"My dear..." His voice was quiet for some reason. "I don't think there's any going back from here."

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"Kellysi-kun? Yuki-chan? That you?"

The siblings immediately perked up as they spotted a curious Saiki approaching them, looking a little lost.

"What are you two doing here...?"

"Saiki-kun?" Nick stated only for Yuki to elbow him harshly in the ribs. "Ouch! Yuki-chan, what was that...?"

"Think again," The black witch frowned, looking clearly upset. "Saiki-kun doesn't call you 'Kellysi-kun', remember? Akatsuki-kun, what do you think you're doing parading around as my husband?"

Silence and the disguised Akatsuki laughed softly, running his hands through his hair with a sigh.

"Oh dear, things really are different now..." he murmured quietly before snapping his fingers to shift back to his normal hair and eye color, smiling calmly. "It was at Saiki-kun's request. He's pretending to be me so I'm pretending to be him... I was going to visit Doremi-chan, and possibly look for my twin daughters."

"I see..." Yuki frowned at that, appearing a little dazed as the younger twin's smile flashed in her mind. "That sounds so like him."

Akatsuki only laughed a bit ruefully.

"So let me guess... You two are looking for your kids, too."

"You're willing to join us if you want," Nick smiled though he felt a little odd. Then again, that might have been because...

_Well..._

The last time he actually spoke one-on-one with Akatsuki was during the Abel's Ark incident in which the elder twin had pretty much (indirectly) threatened him for hurting Saiki.

Well, the two men were overprotective of their younger siblings, so it wasn't really that bad.

"Thanks," Akatsuki made being casual look like second nature, and that only served to further weird the green witch out. "I don't want to trouble Sai for too long, so we better work quickly."

And just like Yuki, it always boiled down to Shidoosha Saiki.

Nick inwardly sighed and Yuki clenched her fists.

This day was just turning out to be something else.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

As Waltz continued to rest, Kami kept her senses extended, maintaining a silent vigil over the only person she could ever possibly consider calling a "friend".

_We've been through a lot together ever since we began serving Master Malladus... wait a minute, that isn't right. He's not our master anymore. But the two of us... we've done a lot together. We've killed, we've sabotaged, hell, we've even seduced, all for the sake of that foul demon. Heh, look who's talking, you silly girl. I've committed my fair share of sins, even though he's been around for decades longer, and I'm sure he's done MUCH worse._

Kami sighed inwardly, turning back to the sleeping Waltz.

_This is confusing me, Waltz-san. Why are you being so sweet to me? All we could ever be considered is "partners", even though I kinda think of you as a friend. And that's something I rather begrudgingly admit._

Looking around to make sure no one else was looking, Kami leaned down and planted a kiss on Waltz's cheek.

"Thanks for saving me, buddy."

And with that, Kami fell into a peaceful sleep alongside her partner, all attempts to convince herself that it might have been something more lost to her slumber.

So Kami didn't even notice Waltz disappearing in a flash.

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"So, has everything been okay for you two?" Akatsuki asked.

"Pretty much," Yuki responded. "I'm feeling a lot better now."

"That's good. I was afraid Saiki-kun was going to go berserk or something," Akatsuki laughed.

It was then that the daytime elemental noticed that Nick hadn't spoken to him at all yet.

"Is something wrong, Kellysi-kun?"

Nick looked at Akatsuki. "You're... not still mad at me, are you?"

A question mark appeared over Akatsuki's head for a few seconds before he eventually burst out laughing.

"You really think I'm still angry at that, Kellysi-kun?" Akatsuki stated. "That was over twenty years ago."

"But Saiki-kun is your brother, right? He's very precious to you," Nick stated. Yuki blushed, as she knew she was precious to Nick, all the same. "And yet you indirectly threatened me when you found out I nearly killed Saiki-kun."

"That semi-animosity's gone, Kellysi-kun," Akatsuki continued. "After everything else that happened on Abel's Ark, I couldn't stay mad at you for that. Besides, you brought him back to me, didn't you?"

"Um... uh...?"

Yuki giggled and latched onto Nick's arm. "Nick-kun was just fulfilling his duty as a caring brother. Right?"

Before Nick could formulate a response to that, an immense dark energy ball flew from out of nowhere and crashed right in front of the trio, knocking them all back a few yards.

When Nick was able to regain his balance, he looked up and saw Black Waltz Three floating there in the air, smirking evilly. Nick did notice the damage Waltz had taken from Malladus' attack.

"You again!" Nick growled, pointing accusingly at Waltz.

"Yes, me again," Waltz grinned. "I've got some business, shall we say, to take care of before this world is enveloped in darkness."

"Business? Wait, are you working for Malladus?" Nick shot back.

"Used to," Waltz admitted. "Kami-san and I were planning to betray him and use his pilfered powers to destroy you and your fellow brats, but we got found out before we were ready."

"And I'm willing to bet you took some damage, huh?" Yuki wondered.

"Nothing life-threatening," Waltz sneered. "Even in my damaged state, I still have more than enough strength to defeat you three."

"You wanna put your money where your mouth is?" Nick taunted, joining hands with Yuki.

"_To the beings of hope..."_ Yuki chanted.

"_To the beings of spirit..."_ Nick continued.

"_Together with the ones that reside between light and dark, gather into our own hands and dispel the evil with our purity!"_ both Nick and Yuki chanted, letting their arms rest around each other while drawing their free hands back.

"_Double Ojamajo Twilight Whirlwind!"_

Waltz put his hands up to block the massive energy whirlwind, but it was apparent that he had taken some damage.

"Nothing but a flesh wound," Waltz admitted.

"But still no match," Akatsuki teased.

"You BRAT!" Waltz growled, charging for Akatsuki.

Akatsuki waited for his chance before thrusting his hand out and slamming it into Waltz's stomach.

"_Rising rays of the daylight!"_ Akatsuki chanted, whipping both his arms and legs around and lashing at Waltz with multiple rapid strikes. _"I'll show you what's in my hands!"_

After an uppercut knocked Waltz into the air, Akatsuki leaped, charging light energy in his hands.

"_Mystic Arte, Asterism Line!"_ Akatsuki finished, thrusting his palms forward and unleashing multiple rays of light energy that ripped at Waltz, causing heavy damage.

"Lucky shot," Waltz growled, though the instant he turned around, he was slashed across the chest by Tobiume.

"_O empress of the twilight skies,"_ Yuki chanted, lashing out with multiple punches, each one exploding into a flash of twilight energy. _"Let's open an unknown and exciting new path!"_

Yuki hopped into the air and shifted her weapon into its final form. Concentrating twilight energy around Shutsuga Tobiume's blade, Yuki held it proudly over her head.

"_Cut the path for the heavens to see! Mystic Arte, Silent Serenade!"_ Yuki chanted, bringing Shutsuga Tobiume down hard and dealing further damage.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that, twilight princess," Waltz sneered, dashing forward and snatching Yuki by the throat.

"Forget about me, freak?" Nick stated. Waltz looked behind him just in time for Nick to uppercut him into the air (Nick had to heavily resist the urge to shout "SHORYUKEN" when he did the uppercut).

"_Dance of the night!"_ Nick chanted, tossing his spinning blade at Waltz, where after hitting him, it rebounded back to Nick. _"This blade can see through everything!"_

After a few rebounds, Nick tossed the spinning Hanyou Hikari forward, only to dash up and catch it before cutting through Waltz.

"Now dance! _Mystic Arte, Spiral Waltz!_" Nick finished, unleashing a storm of strikes that knocked Waltz back and stunned him.

"Ready, Nick-kun!" Yuki exclaimed, the two of them rushing to opposite sides of the stunned Waltz.

Not wasting any time, Nick and Yuki slammed their weapons into the ground, creating a glyph under Waltz that erupted into a geyser of energy that slashed mercilessly at him.

The two of them wasted no time in zipping forward. Once they'd gotten close enough to Waltz, Yuki hopped to Waltz' other side as they readied their assault.

"_Together as one!"_ Nick chanted.

"_As it always should be!"_ Yuki chanted.

With that, Nick and Yuki both started attacking, slashing at Waltz in synchronized movements before stepping back and charging straight at Waltz, delivering powerful horizontal strikes and rushing straight through him at the same time.

That accomplished, Nick and Yuki both leapt into the air, crossing their weapons.

"_Let's show them!"_ Yuki exclaimed.

"_Run them through!"_ Nick responded.

Their weapons began glowing with a bright silver light.

"_Mystic Arte! Bushin Soutenha!"_ Nick and Yuki exclaimed, slashing their weapons across each other. This sent two energy beams from each of their weapons that eventually joined together and spiraled into a massive corkscrew of energy that pierced right through Waltz's chest, in the exact same spot he'd been struck by Malladus before.

Once the attack was over, Waltz slumped to the ground, clutching his wound.

He only had enough energy to make a desperate teleport.

Yuki quickly brandished her weapon. "Nick-kun, we've gotta go after him!"

Nick just shook his head. "It's all right, Yuki-chan. He's not gonna survive that. And this time, I made sure of something. He's not coming back anymore."

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Kami felt something weird the instant she'd woken up. The first thing she noticed was that Waltz wasn't there.

"Where'd he go?" Kami wondered. "Ah, he's probably out doing his thing."

No sooner had Kami said that then Waltz himself teleported in, and the Scarlet Shade was shocked to see that Waltz had gotten his behind handed to him.

"Waltz-san! What happened to you, you idiot?" Kami exclaimed, rushing up to her fallen partner.

"They... got me good..." Waltz groaned. "I saw my chance to get rid of them... but I failed rather spectacularly... you can probably tell, can't you...?"

"Hold on, you dummy!" Kami shouted, focusing some of her powers into a healing spell, but the Scarlet Shade was shocked to see that it didn't have any effect.

"I'm... I'm done up, my dear. I have to say, it was wonderful working with you," Waltz stated, his body beginning to lose what little strength it had left. "I guess... I'll see you in the next world, my lovely..."

Kami just nodded, realizing the inevitable: Waltz was going to die, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

As Waltz slumped to the ground and began to break apart into little particles, Kami managed to say one last thing to her sidearm.

"I love you, ya dummy."

And then, Waltz completely faded away, though he had said something before disappearing. Though no sound had come from the silver-haired psychopath, Kami easily understood his last message.

"_I love you, too, my dear."_

Kami stood up, a few tears falling from her eyes. Reaching behind her back, she unsheathed something she'd managed to grab from Malladus' lair before they had made their great escape: a fearsomely powerful, demonic-looking sword.

"I swear, on the blade of Onigari no Ryuo... I am going to kill those little brats," Kami proclaimed, tears streaming from her eyes.

"In your memory, Waltz... I will slaughter all of them."

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

_Huh?_

Satoshi stopped dead in his tracks, the other three girls pausing and looking at him in confusion.

"Satoshi?"

Mana was immediately beside him, navy eyes sparkling in confusion as her head tilted to the side in curiosity. "Is something wrong, nii-chan?"

"Um, no Mana-chan, I'm actually..." The last link's eyes jolted wide and he turn dazed, falling forward and completely losing consciousness.

Thankfully, Keri caught him before he could meet the cold ground.

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"_Hello?"_

Satoshi looked around, noticing that he was the same place he was earlier... Only now it was a different area. _"Um... Is this supposed to be a dream or something?"_

_Funny, if I'm going to dream than shouldn't it be more... It should be surreal, right? That doesn't make much sense..._

"_Whatever..."_ he sighed, walking forward, not even noticing how he phased through some trees as if he were a ghost... Until he stopped, phasing in the middle of a bush. _"Something doesn't feel quite right..."_

_No, no way at all..._

Satoshi perked up when he noticed the ever familiar presence walking through, her fists tightening and a scowl pulling at her lips.

_Oh man... Isn't that...?_

"_Kami-san?"_

"Huh?"

Kami flinched, a shiver going up her spin as she turned to the black-haired boy, shaking oh so slightly. "Oh... It's you."

_Right on time...!_

The twilight-magic user would have flinched when she pulled out her weapon had she not paused and stared at him in confusion.

_Oh, no way..._

"What the hell... Are you dream projecting?"

Looking down at his not-so-solid body, he shrugged.

"_If that's what this is..."_

"Oh... Wonderful." Kami put her weapon away, trying to calm down. "I can't kill you if you're just a projection."

"_Why do you even want to kill me anyway? Earlier, you wanted me as some toy!"_ Satoshi blushed slightly, though he still felt pretty cold for the most part.

That's when he realized something.

"_Isn't Waltz supposed to be with you?"_

Noticing how the scarlet witch had flinched at the mention of Waltz, he looked down as if in shame. _"Oh... I'm sorry..."_

_I suppose it might have been Sakura-chan's doing... Or maybe even our parents' handiwork..._

"Why are you apologizing? We're the enemy. Shouldn't you want us dead?"

"_I don't like people dying even if they're bad or good. My sense of justice isn't as strong as it's supposed to be..." _Satoshi shrugged. _"You look hurt so I feel sorry for you... Isn't that what I'm supposed to do when I see a girl upset?"_

There was a short silence and for some reason, Akuko cracked a smile.

"Wow, last link. Maybe I'll kill you last for that."

"_Please don't kill anyone!"_ Satoshi was quiet, almost submissively so and he bowed his head, burning crimson. _"T-This dream projecting... Do you know how to stop?"_

"You just need..." Kami stopped, raising an eyebrow. "Why should I tell you?"

"_...Um..."_

She smirked, folding her arms. "You could lead me to the others... Or they could come to me to get your spirit..."

_But wait..._

"You're way too vulnerable like that... Malladus could get his greasy hands on you..." Kami muttered to herself in irritation. "Well, I suppose I could take care of your friends and THEN Malladus..."

"_In that case, I'm not going to move from this spot."_ Stubborn as his mother, Satoshi sat on the ground, folding his arms and trying not to fall through it. _"You're going to have to force me."_

"What are you, a child?" The scarlet shade looked impossibly irritated. "Me killing you off last won't be nearly as bad as Malladus sucking up your spirit along with that younger twin girl!"

At that, Satoshi's head snapped up in surprise. _"M-Mira?"_

"Who else?" Akuko looked exasperated.

"_Oh man..."_ He immediately stood up only to trip, phasing through some trees and rocks, sinking into the ground. _"I-I have to get to Mana-chan, Arte..."_

"You can't even move properly in that state..." She frowned, sighing. "Hey, I'm going to follow you if you try to run away, little last link."

"_Forget running... Can't you help me?"_

"And why THE HELL would I do that, you idiot?"

"_Because you don't have a choice and neither do I! Even if I can't stop you from hurting my friends, I can at least get you to help me find my body!"_

"You can't be...!"

"_I AM!"_

Kami could feel the wind blowing furiously at his words, surprised as crimson eyes met determined brown ones.

"Ah..."

She blinked once. Twice.

Then she laughed.

"_What? We don't have to like each other if we need to work together, Kami-san."_ Satoshi folded his arms, hmphing. _"What's your problem?"_

"My problem is that you bratty friends killed my partner, and because you're so helpless and pathetic, you want me to help you..."

Kami smirked at him rather ruefully.

"Screw anything I said about you being like your father."

Satoshi didn't even respond to that, but Akuko quickly smiled.

"Fine, you little bastard. I'll help you... And then I'll kill you."

He huffed curtly.

"_Fine."_

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"Satoshi-nii-chan? NII-CHAN!"

Mana shook her brother's shoulders. "Dammit nii-chan, this is the WORST time to fall asleep!"

Yamasaki ran her fingers through his hair, sighing lightly. "We need to keep moving... I'll carry him, Mana-chan."

"Well, he's heavy, so I guess I'll leave it to you, Keri-chan."

Arte grumbled but moved ahead.

"Hurry, we need to find Mira!"

"Got it, Arte-chan."

"You wake up soon, sleeping prince," Keri murmured to Satoshi, chastely on his cheek. "Alright?"

"COME ON!"

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"So THAT'S what it's like to kill someone... Saiki-kun said it was really unpleasant, and I suppose he was right..."

Akatsuki smiled, chuckling a bit to himself. "Interesting..."

"I'm glad I was here for you for this experience, Akatsuki-kun," Nick sighed as they continued searching, all looking about before he realized something. "Saiki-kun never killed anyone, did he?"

Yuki only fiddled with her fingers.

"It was once. Our powers weren't completely in check yet." A slight pause. "For the record, the other guy started it."

Both siblings stared in shock and the elder twin smiled sadly.

"Saiki-kun wouldn't leave his room for weeks after that until he was completely sure that he mastered his powers."

"That's fine... At least he never tried to kill you, Akatsuki-kun," Yuki murmured lightly, smiling slightly as she sighed. "Saiki-kun's still fine..."

"At least he didn't mean it..." Nick muttered, sighing heavily himself.

Akatsuki laughed lightly. "Sai's probably going to kill me for telling you two that."

"How much do you even know about Saiki-kun anyway?" The black witch was curious, her eyes wide. "Saiki-kun never even mentioned..."

"Yeah, there are some things that he's not comfortable talking about."

"With good reason," Nick continued before taking a deep breath. "I had no idea... Though the incidents at Abel's Ark..."

"He's precious isn't he? The way he gets so weak and submissive to the point where all he desires is forgiveness..."

The elder twin smiled, appearing a bit dazed.

"How he's so vulnerable when he's crying... At that point, if you're careful enough with your words... You can get Saiki-kun to do just about anything."

Then he chuckled, further surprising the two siblings as he gave them both a somewhat sad smile.

"I hope Satoshi-kun's not the same way."

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"_This is weird."_

"You talk too much."

"_Get used to it."_

"Wow, you do have some guts after all."

Satoshi continued to walk forwards, not even glancing back at Kami. He was a little miffed that the Scarlet Shade was acting like this.

"You should just consider yourself lucky I haven't already killed you," Kami stated. "I kinda like you, ya know."

Satoshi perked up at that. _"Oh, really?"_

"Girl's gotta have her fun, right?"

"_Whatever."_

It was silent for a while, the two unlikely travelers just heading for wherever.

"_Kami-san?"_

"What is it, you little brat?"

"_Why did you and Waltz-san decide to betray Malladus?"_

Kami spun around at this question.

"Well... we knew his power would be what Waltz and I needed, but there was a bit of a hitch: how could we attain that power if he was released? He wouldn't listen to us if we had. So we met with his echo or whatever, the little bit of him that could leak out into the world in his imprisoned state, and we offered him our services in exchange for giving us the power to wipe your fellow Ojamajos out of existence. That was mostly Waltz's idea. I was just gonna take my share of the power and do whatever. I didn't care what the dummy did as long as he was happy."

"_You seemed like you were in love with him."_

"We'd been doing this thing for two decades now. I didn't want to admit it at first, but he was slowly but surely growing on me. I guess we were just too busy working for Malladus to take it into account. When Waltz came back after he'd gotten his behind handed to him, I finally managed to suck up my courage and admit it to him."

"_That's happened a lot."_

Kami just nodded. And so they turned back to their path, Satoshi not even noticing the evil smirk on the Scarlet Shade's face.

After a while, the two unlikely traveling partners stopped in what appeared to be a wide open area with no light shining into it save for a tiny circle in the center of the area.

"_Um... why did we stop?"_

"He's all yours, Master Malladus."

"**Well done, Akuko. Nice to know that you had more sense than Waltz did."**

Satoshi stumbled back a bit in surprise. _"Wha... what's going on?"_

To the last link's great surprise, Kami actually began laughing. "You actually thought I was going to help you? Get real, kid. As much as I like you, I'm afraid you were just a pawn."

Satoshi quivered a bit in fear, but stood his ground. _"I thought you betrayed Malladus!"_

"I said that to trick you, Satoshi-kun," Kami giggled. "I knew you'd wolf down whatever broken-home bull I fed you, so I lied about having betrayed Malladus. Waltz was the one who betrayed him, and I was just along for the ride."

"_But... you told me you were in love with Waltz!"_

"That I wasn't lying about," Kami stated. "And I'm going to extract my vengeance on those pesky brats soon enough. I just needed to keep you out of the way, and I'd say I did a good job."

"**So, we meet at last, boy,"** Mira stated, floating in the air nearby, her eyes as dark yellow as Malladus' were. **"I never would have expected a timid child born of the darkness to be the last link we've been searching for."**

Satoshi just stood his ground, not wanting to say or do anything that might get him killed.

"**I must admit, Akuko, you really convinced me with your betrayal act,"** Mira stated to Kami. **"But I knew you were still loyal to me."**

"Always, Master Malladus," Kami giggled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some brats to go take care of."

And with that, Kami disappeared, leaving a scared Satoshi alone with the possessed Mira.

Mira landed back on whatever was the ground and sauntered over to the petrified last link.

"**Why do you not run?"** Mira taunted. **"Are you scared of my power? It would be wise if you were. My sheer power is insurmountable to someone like you. You're just a coward, you know that? You're capable of so much inner strength, but you're too afraid of your own power to be of any use. That is why you are weak."**

Before Satoshi could respond to that, Mira twitched.

"**Wha... what the...?"**

"_SATOSHI!"_

The last link perked up at that voice: it was Mira.

"_Satoshi, I need you! Get this freak out of my body!"_

Mira shook a few times before settling down.

"**Worthless little brat," **Mira growled.

"_Don't you DARE talk about my cousin like that."_

Mira looked back at Satoshi, who didn't look scared anymore, his hands brimming with dark energy.

"**Now you show some backbone,"** Mira proclaimed. **"But you do realize that fighting me can be considered suicide?"**

_I don't have to defeat this freak,_ Satoshi thought. _I just have to force him out of Mira's body and make sure he can't use it again. With the twilight powers I inherited from okaa-san, I think I can do that._

Satoshi shifted into fighting stance, getting ready to strike at any time.

_It's time to stop being a timid little wallflower who gets pushed around easily,_ Satoshi thought. _I can do this. I have to be brave for Mira's sake._

"**If you insist,"** Mira stated, shifting into fighting stance herself.

"**It's your funeral."**

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Come on, Satoshi-kun, wake up!" Keri exclaimed.

"That's the seventy-fifth time you've said that, Keri-chan," Mana responded. "And please stop hugging him so tightly. You're gonna suffocate him."

Keri pouted. "Aw, you're no fun, Mana-chan."

"_The force of a boy's determination, take this! Ojamajo Sparkle Spiral!"_

Mana looked up just in time to see a very peculiar sight: a spiraling vortex of emerald-green energy carrying a shadow creature through the sky.

Before Mana could even query, Nick hopped out from the nearby shrubbery, uppercutting another shadow creature into the air before spin-kicking it back to the bushes.

"Jii-chan!" Mana exclaimed.

At that precise moment, Yuki hopped out of the bushes as well, kicking the shadow creature square in the jaw before grabbing it by the collar and slamming it into the ground.

"_The waves of my own feelings, take this! Ojamajo Twilight Rain!"_

Yuki fired a stream of twilight energy beams from her palm, each one slamming into the shadow creature until it was vaporized.

Yuki landed gracefully on the ground.

"That was fun," Yuki giggled.

"Yep, even after fourteen years, I've still got it," Nick teased.

"It's a little thing called 'skill', Kellysi-kun," Akatsuki reminded.

Nick sweatdropped. "I really hate when he does that..."

Yuki looked behind her, noticing her daughter and unconscious son.

"MANA-CHAN!" Yuki exclaimed, rushing up to hug the young night elemental.

"Okaa-chan, why are you still out and about? You should be in bed right now!" Mana stated.

"It's all right, Mana-chan," Yuki giggled. "I'm feeling a LOT better now."

"Trust me, Mana-chan, if Yuki-chan's feeling well enough to stand by me and trash Waltz like it was nothing, she can go for a stroll," Nick teased, causing his sister to blush.

"So that freaky dark dude is gone?" Mana asked.

"He's gone for good this time," Akatsuki responded.

"That just leaves the Scarlet Shade," Mana noted. "When I get my hands on that little brat..."

"Wait. Scarlet Shade? Mana-chan, are you talking about Akuko Kami-chan?" Yuki wondered. "I remember back in our childhood, she tried to take Saiki-kun away from me so many times!"

"But she wasn't really evil, sis," Nick reminded, remembering THOSE events clearly even after almost twenty years. "She was just a normal girl who happened to have a big crush on Saiki-kun."

"Oh, back then, it was way beyond a crush."

Nick was the first to hear this new voice, but before anyone else could make a query, a ball of dark energy flew into the ground, scattering everyone about.

When Nick was able to get his bearings, he noticed that Kami herself was floating in the air.

"I could have had him if it wasn't for her," Kami noted.

Nick was about to summon Hanyou Hikari and jump into the battle, only to be gently shoved aside by Mana.

"Sorry, jii-chan, but this one's mine."

"Are... are you sure, Mana-chan?" Yuki asked.

"This little brat humiliated me earlier, and she did something to onii-chan," Mana explained, pointing to the unconscious Satoshi. Yuki gasped at seeing her son lost to the world.

"For my onii-chan... I'm gonna take this little brat out of the picture."

"What did I tell you before, little girl?" Kami gloated. "I've slain hundreds of Purifiers before. You're out of your league."

"Well, I've got someone I'm fighting for. Okaa-chan and jii-chan always told me that fighting for someone you care about will make you stronger," Mana shot back before being covered in a bright light, coming out in her Purifier uniform.

"_For one who will always cherish those she loves... the Royal Purifier of Truth, at your service!"_

"So, shall we have at it?" Mana giggled, shifting into a fierce fighting stance.

"If you want to die so easily, that can be arranged," Kami taunted, shifting into stance herself.

(written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"_I'm not giving up... I'm just accepting it!" Kami exclaimed, earning the black witch to just smile, chuckling a bit. "Sheesh Yuki-chan, stop looking at me like that... It's weird..."_

"_I-I... I guess you can just say I'm relieved... I really started to like Kami-chan, so I really don't want to fight her anymore anyway..."_

_Red splashes across the dark red-haired girl's face, crimson eyes wide and purely surprised._

"_E-Eh...?"_

"_I'm serious!"_

_Within moments, Kami's eyes soon narrowed._

"_If you don't treat Saiki-san correctly, you can bet I'll take him away from right under your nose."_

"_Okay! But there's no need to worry, because I love Saiki-kun!"_

_The other girl soon smiled, sighing a bit at the black-haired girl's cheerful yet still innocent childishness._

"_Keep to your word, Yuki-chan."_

Yuki blinked as she quickly gathered her son into her arms and smoothed down his black hair... Her same son that was now an absolute replica of her husband with his chocolate brown eyes closed and completely limp in her hold.

_It's not just the fact that Kami-chan's still the same age as when I recall her that's surprising... But didn't she leave us on a good note? What could have happened? And, my sweet Satoshi-kun..._

Her eyes flickered to the Scarlet Shade, wide and so, so confused.

_You were stubborn and a bit of a pain, sure... But you never hurt anyone, Kami-chan... And you were always so sure of yourself and proud in a way that made me so envious... Whatever happened to you being above such underhanded tactics?_

Akatsuki watched the battle unraveling rather indifferently, perking up when he noticed Arte staring at him rather oddly, and soon smiled fondly at his older daughter out of instinct before realizing something and turning confused if not worried.

_Strange... Mira-chan should be with her..._

Arte avoided his gaze, blushing rather heavily.

_How am I supposed to tell him?_

"_Kneel, Wabisuke!"_

Kami's smirk widened as Mana summoned up her weapon and didn't hesitate for a second before conjuring up a blood red katana of her own.

"One of those traditional sword fights for us, eh? Okay, I can handle that."

She beamed and the young night elemental couldn't help but smile good-naturedly in response, earning Yuki's eyes to widen.

_Perhaps... Kami-chan hasn't changed as much as I thought she has..._

The two collided, Kami successfully nicking Mana's shoulder while the other girl managed to roughly kick her away in the stomach before wincing, quickly grasping at her bloodied shoulder.

_No good, she's stronger than I intended... Maybe she wasn't just showing off after all?_

"It's hopeless, you know that?"

There was silence and Mana soon sighed.

"Hey, Kami-chan, you're doing this for your own love, aren't you? I heard okaa-chan... You and otou-chan..."

"That was a long time ago," Kami sounded a little bitter but somewhat accepting, and Yuki's eyes further widened.

_Oh, Kami-chan..._

"_I'm not going to give up, Yuki-chan! You're just way too below Saiki-san's level!"_

"_And you! You're too harsh for my delicate Saiki-kun, Kami-chan!"_

"_Ha-ha... You two are fighting so spiritedly for Saiki-kun... I feel sorry for him..."_

"_Hey onii-chan, what matters is who loves Saiki-kun more, right? As well as who's better for him..."_

"_Heh. It's good to see we agree on something."_

"If you're fighting for love right now, that I can understand actually! But I don't think that's why you're fighting, Kami-chan!"

Akuko's eyes snapped wide and she soon frowned but quickly charged for the younger girl, making her quickly block the blow with a clang.

"You're just fighting because you're upset that you no longer have anyone to rely on! That's the reason, right? You lost the ability to love someone after you gave up on otou-chan, didn't you?"

Kami could only flinch as she continued, her voice getting harsher and surer.

"You might have been our enemy, but Waltz was fond of you, wasn't he? He was fond of you and you were flattered, so you just fooled yourself into thinking you were in love with him because you didn't have anyone else!"

"How could you possibly know that?" Kami's voice was barely above a whisper, pressing harder against Mana's weapon. "I was cursed, you know that? This wretched age of mine... I can't even be normal..."

Silence.

"Who would love someone who didn't grow? What kind of decent people are out there for me?"

"T-There was always me..." a voice mumbled, earning Nick to glance at his sister in shock as she continued muttering.

"You helped me, Kami-chan... It was because of you, after all, that I managed to stop doubting myself for Saiki-kun's sake... You were more than just my rival, you were my..."

_You were my..._

"_What matters is just who loves him more, right?"_

"_Absolutely! So no giving up until we decide?"_

"_Absolutely!"_

"You were a friend... Someone I grew to admire..." The black witch looked down, saddened. "What happened to you?"

Nick only blinked once in worry.

_Oh, sis..._

"You toyed with my nii-chan because he looked so much like otou-chan..." With that, the navy-eyed girl shoved her back, now fighting much more vigorously than ever. "That's not fair...!"

"Hey, it's life."

"But he's _innocent_, you know that? He's the kind of guy who would look at you once and make you feel as if you were the only one in the world!" Mana blushed before shaking her head. "He..."

There was a short pause, and she was soon yelling.

"He's the reason why I can't even have a boyfriend... Because then I know that I would think to myself, over and over... If only there was someone out there like Satoshi!"

_I love him so much... So much that I know it's not normal..._

Kami perked up when she noticed the tears welling up in those navy orbs so earnest and sincere.

_Oh..._

"Y-You... My Satoshi... My dearest nii-chan... You _hurt_ him, Kami-chan!"

"You killed Waltz," she returned softly, voice apathetic. "You couldn't possibly know how that felt..."

_Yes, it's understandable... Yet..._

There were a few minutes of nothing before Mana chuckled rather ruefully.

_Well, yes, yet..._

"This was a war, hey? Isn't death normal and be honest... When we won, what? Did you want us to be fighting you two forever? Wouldn't that have gotten boring?"

"_I can't just chase after something over and over again. I'm not insane like you are..."_

"...Hey Kami-chan, what did you even do to him anyway?"

_I betrayed him._ Satoshi's stricken gaze flashed in her mind as she glanced towards his limp body, now feeling a bit of guilt welling up in her stomach. _Because if I talked to him more, got to know him more, have him smile at me in an earnest and sincere manner just like Saiki-san... I wouldn't be able to control myself... And it'd be more than just me reaching out and snatching him..._

"_You're so strange, Kami-chan."_

_I wouldn't be able to let him go and that would just cause too many problems._

"There's a difference between enemy and rival, and while you were a rival at one point, you're my enemy so I won't let you off that easily," Mana proclaimed, only earning Kami to glance at her right as she impaled the Scarlet Shade with her sword, twisting it once as crimson orbs widened, blood trickling from her lips. "I hate taking lives, but I'm doing this for both our goods..."

"H-Hah... Is that so...?" Akuko coughed out blood, shaking terribly as she fell forward onto the young night elemental's shoulder, sighing heavily. "I... I guess vengeance does land us in crappy situations..."

Mana said nothing, but she continued.

"You were right too, ya know...? I wasn't in love with Waltz, but that didn't change the fact that I cared about him... I... I was too scared to fall in love again, so Malladus has your Satoshi-kun right now."

Keri gasped. "Satoshi...?"

Mana's own eyes widened and Kami soon smiled ruefully. "Hey, hey... I know I won't be forgiven, but do me a favor, alright? Kill Malladus, and kiss Satoshi-kun at least once so that you'll know what it's like. Tell me about it in the afterlife."

The young night elemental blushed darkly but smiled in return and nodded. "I'll be with him until he falls in love... And you can bet that I'll save him."

"Thanks. Also, Saiki-san... Please don't tell him that I... I... I want him to remember me fondly, as selfish as that is..."

"That I can promise," Yuki was the one who spoke up, tears in her eyes. The Scarlet Shade smiled softly at her and her eyes closed as she fell against Mana, the young night elemental wrenching her sword out of her.

"It's over now, Scarlet Shade."

"Well, it looks like we're after Malladus," Akatsuki stated, sighing a bit, making his niece perk up in surprise. "We need to save Satoshi-kun and Mira-chan, right?"

"O-Otou-san! How did you know?"

"Hush, Arte-chan."

Mana delicately placed Kami's body on the ground as Yuki stepped forward, smiling gently as she patted her daughter's shoulder.

"Come on, we'll take care of Kami-chan now... Give her a proper burial and everything and hope to see her again... And then we got a few wishes to fulfill."

The youngest girl just smiled sadly at that, and could only nod vigorously.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Whoa..." Sakura gasped, looking up at the sight that stood in front of her. The Tower of Spirits was looming over them like a god would.

"Something's not right here, though..." Megumi noted.

Almost as if it had been waiting for Megumi to say that, the Tower of Spirits rumbled violently before emitting a pulse of dark energy and splitting into four sections, each one slowly rotating on its axis.

"What the heck?" Raika exclaimed.

"Must be Malladus," Megumi wondered. "I bet he's trying to make some kinda power play to help him escape from his prison. If that's what happened, we need to go into the Tower NOW."

"Go into THAT thing?" Raika shot back. "Are you out of your mind, Megumi-chan?"

"We have to!" Anju shot back. "I can barely sense Mira-chan and Satoshi-kun in there, and I think they're in trouble!"

"Wait... I can sense them, too!" Sakura replied after concentrating for a few seconds. "Something worries me, though... Mira-chan's aura's been corrupted!"

"Oh, no... you don't think Malladus possessed her?" Sango exclaimed.

"All the more reason to go in there and find them so we can offer the assistance they need!" Megumi continued. "Let's get going, everyone!"

With no more hesitation, the six teenagers walked into the glowing door at the base of the tower.


	3. Act 3: I Sing the Body Electric

Act 3: I Sing the Body Electric

"She used to be such a nice girl..." Yuki stated. "If not a little devious... no one deserves such a cruel fate..."

"It must have been even worse that she lost someone she actually cared about..." Mana wondered.

"Nick-kun, what do you think happened that made Kami-chan change so much?" Yuki asked.

"Beats me," Nick responded, holding his little sister close. "From what you told me, Yuki-chan, she was just a normal, hyperactive girl who had a big crush on Saiki-kun..."

Yuki looked at the spot where they'd given the Scarlet Shade a nice burial, as they'd promised.

"I hope I'll see you again soon, Kami-chan... I miss you already," Yuki stated, a few tears slipping out. Nick just patted her on the shoulder.

"Let's go to the Tower of Spirits, everybody," Nick announced. "We have some wishes to fulfill, right?"

Akatsuki smiled at this.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Mira stood at attention, ready to strike out at Satoshi at a moment's notice.

"**Well?"** Mira asked. **"Are you just going to stand there like a chicken, or are you going to face me?"**

Satoshi just nodded.

After a few seconds, Satoshi let out a battle cry and charged for Mira.

Mira quickly aimed a strike for Satoshi, but she was surprised to see him easily dodge it.

Before Mira could think things through, she was struck point-blank by a powerful blast of Makurayami.

"**Impressive,"** Mira commended. **"You're definitely not the timid little wallflower you once were."**

Mira was about to unleash a powerful blast, but was quite shocked to see Satoshi teleport in a way that made it appear that he'd phased out of existence.

Before Mira could respond, Satoshi appeared right behind her.

"You'd be surprised what timid little wallflowers like me can do when they're fighting for someone they care about. _MAKURAYAMI!_"

Mira couldn't avoid the attack at such point-blank range, but instead of causing a hefty toll of damage like she thought it would, the massive sphere of dark energy absorbed itself into her, causing her entire body to glow with a bright light.

"**What... what in the...?"** Mira exclaimed, then screamed loudly as the Makurayami spell took its course and forced Malladus out of her body.

Thinking quickly, Satoshi quickly caught Mira and placed his hand on her chest, focusing a bit of his inherited twilight power into her. Silver energy washed through Mira's body as the spell did its work.

Malladus shook his head, unable to believe what had just happened.

"How... how did you force me out of that body?" Malladus exclaimed. He instantly tried a spell to return to Mana's body, but quickly realized he couldn't; something in Mira's body was blocking his access.

"What did you do?"

"I put a lock on Mira's body so you can't use it again," Satoshi explained. "You're not touching my cousin anymore."

Malladus growled loudly before disappearing in a dark flash.

With that out of the way, Satoshi looked down at Mira, still a little concerned.

That concern faded away when Mira finally opened her eyes. Satoshi was glad to see that they had returned to their normal violet hue.

"Satoshi?" Mira asked. "Is that you?"

Satoshi just nodded, then crashed to the floor as Mira glomped him.

"Oh, Satoshi, thank you!" Mira exclaimed. "I can't believe you actually got that creep out of my body!"

"I'm just doing what I have to do, Mira-chan," Satoshi responded. "I wasn't going to let him just mess with you."

Mira suddenly noticed a bit of Satoshi's own power flowing through her.

"I put a sort-of lock on your body so Malladus can't take it back," Satoshi explained.

"Oh, Satoshi, you're so SWEET!" Mira giggled, hugging Satoshi tightly.

Not sure of what else to do, Satoshi returned the hug.

Mira sighed happily as she let's her cousin's warmth calm her after what she had just experienced. She REALLY didn't like being a puppet to someone like Malladus.

After a few minutes, the two stood up.

"Well, Satoshi, wanna find the way out of here?"

Satoshi nodded, joining hands with Mira so they could head off and explore the dark realm.

(Written by **YukiShinoya444**)

The two continued searching when Mira noticed something.

Satoshi was quiet enough to fade into the background, yes (he did that on a regular basis to avoid fights) but has his outline always been so... _blurred_?

Now that she thought about it, he did feel rather slight in her grasp earlier, and even now his hand was as light as snow.

"Satoshi... What's up with...?"

"Huh?"

"You look like a ghost. Literally."

"O-Oh! This... Well, Kami-san said it was spiritual teleportation or..." Satoshi paused as if finally remembering something and sighed, noticeably drooping a bit.

"She... I wonder if she's already been taken care of..."

_There are still so many things that I'm curious about either way..._

"Are we thinking of the same Kami, Satoshi? Man, if you're worried about the enemy than you really are so nice that it's unrealistic... Show some selfishness and pettiness will ya?" Mira laughed, poking her cousin playfully in the stomach but frowning when her finger went straight through like some sort of gelatin.

"Uh... Gross..." She pulled out her finger, frowning at how cold it was. "What just happened?"

If anything, Shidoosha just got more translucent and he sighed. _"Oh... So it looks like I really am running out of time here after all..."_

_I didn't this would happen so quickly... Then again, I also didn't think Kami-san would betray me... I guess I just thought she wouldn't sink so low like that... I'm not sure why, but..._

"Satoshi?"

"_My body... I need it back..."_ Satoshi frowned, rueful. _"The problem is that I can't find my little sister or Arte... I can only hear whispers and speak softly while everything is air. Warmth and scents are completely intangible."_

_I can hardly even speak and hear, basically... Though people can still touch me, I don't feel anything but frost..._

"That doesn't make much sense but if it's Arte, that I can help you with." Mira beamed. "Otou-san taught me a special way to always find onee-chan whenever I was lost if I don't know where she was... It's twin telepathy!"

_I-I want to be helpful to Satoshi so maybe I can at least do this for him if not anything else than can be done..._

"_And just when I thought I could finally be useful... This happens to me... Just my luck..."_ He looked at his hands, not liking how transparent they were getting before he quickly shook his head. _"I'm so sorry, Mira."_

_It's just so hard sometimes... Or am I just not meant to have nice things? Oh, okaa-san... What would you say?_

"Hey, hey... If there's anyone who should be sorry, it's me. I'm the one you came all this way for and..." The pink-haired girl blushed lightly. "I... I really appreciate it..."

At that, Satoshi could only smile.

"_Is that so? It was to be expected though, Mira... We are family after all, aren't we?"_

At that, Mira flinched but blushed even darker.

"Yeah... family..."

_If only, huh?_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Keri perked up as Satoshi squirmed a bit, having his arm being thrown rather messily over her shoulder as she dragged him through, being as gentle as she could.

"So what exactly happened to Satoshi-kun's spirit anyway? Malladus has him... But we have his body right here..." Yuki looked confused. "Hey Akatsuki-kun, has something like this ever happened with Saiki-kun? It never happened when I was with him, but you've known him a lot longer, so..."

"It never happened exactly this way with Saiki-kun... It's something elementals can do though." Akatsuki click his tongue. "It was really troubling."

_Seeing Saiki-kun still and dazed... Not reacting... Not doing anything at all... He... He would..._

"He'd just sit there in the middle of the floor with blank eyes and wouldn't react to anything or anyone... It gave me nightmares for weeks and I remember throwing the kingdom up into uproar because I was so distressed about it..." He shook his head once as if to clear his mind of the memory. Akatsuki soon smiled somewhat lightly.

"Eventually though, papa found out the truth."

"So what's wrong with him exactly?" Nick asked, earning him to sigh.

_Of course Kellysi-kun still doesn't get but who knows... It's just..._

"I'm guessing he managed to trap his spirit outside his body... It happens without warning, and it works my way... Saiki-kun's spirit always managed to get trapped within so that was much scarier..."

"Will he get better?" Mana wondered, looking carefully at her brother, her jaw clenched. "Satoshi, I mean..."

"Oh if we find his spirit, he'll be fine... But he can't be in that form for too long or else he'll start to fade away..." A pause.

"Spiritual form is pure magical energy infused with some, only some human senses. Magic is everywhere, even if you don't realize it, and without a vessel, it's extremely difficult to keep it all condensed in one place."

"So... He'll just fade away?" Arte was a little confused. "Papa, what do you mean by that?"

"It means he'll become the equivalent to a human ghost... He'll be the same thing as dead, so to speak. And in that form, the only thing to do would be forbidden magic to switch places with him so that he'd be alive and well again..."

"Oh, the same as that 'me' in the alternate world of Subspace..." Mana murmured dazedly before grimacing. "Nii-chan... like that?"

"_NO_!"

To everyone's surprise, it was Keri who had shouted that, looking pale and absolutely mortified at the idea of the last link currently in her arms to become permanently unmoving.

_I wouldn't know what I'd do if..._

"I-I..." Célestine seemed to struggle a bit with her next words. "I-I'm not going to allow that to happen to Satoshi! We have to find him immediately!"

_If Satoshi... If something happened to my Satoshi..._

"Keri-chan's right... This is my nii-chan we're talking about here! But... where is he?"

Arte suddenly perked up.

"Mira...?"

Everyone looked at her and she dashed forward.

"This way! I can feel my sister this way!"

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"Hey Haine-chan, do you feel that?" Natsuki wondered as she looked around in confusion, her shoulders sagging. "It's not pleasant at all... Maybe we should turn around?"

"And what? Wait? No way, Natsuki-chan."

"But..."

"Natsuki-chan, come on!" Haine grabbed her hand, pulling it close. "We're friends aren't we? So just trust me on this when I say it'll be fine... Look, we're almost there!"

"I still feel bad..." Natsuki frowned. "I..."

_What can we even do?_

"Natsuki-chan?"

_I'm just so unsure..._

"Natsuki-chan..."

_I don't know..._

"Natsuki-chan."

_Maybe we..._

"NATSUKI-CHAN! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Haine exclaimed, shaking her shoulders harshly. "We'll get through this, alright?"

"B-But Haine-chan~!"

"NO BUTS!"

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"Megumi-chan, it's a little frightening in here..." Kanae murmured, pressing close to Megumi a little. "I... I wonder..."

_What else lies in here?_

"Don't worry about it, Kanae-chan, I'll protect you." Megumi whistled. "I wonder if this is how our mothers felt... Hey, do you think we should be sisters or just get eloped?"

"M-Megumi-chan!"

"Would they be surprised? Otou-san may cry though so I wouldn't know..."

_He's so troublesome sometimes... It really is quite a wonder how okaa-san puts up with him all the time... Then again he even tells me how much of a miracle it was that she married him in the first place... Oh, man..._

"Megumi-chan, yer serious, aren't ya?" Raika chortled. "I wouldn't put it past ya."

"Don't say things like that so easily, Rai-chan," Anju murmured though she smiled slightly. "Now is a time for seriousness."

"Anju-chan's right~!" Sango sang, wrapping an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "Though things seemed to have calmed down..."

Sakura merely looked up. "Mira-chan's aura is normal again, but something's still wrong... Satoshi-kun's aura is fading fast."

_Satoshi-kun... What's happening to him right now?_

"And right when one problem is solved, another arises! How did our parents take it?" Megumi wondered aloud before taking Kanae's hand and squeezing. "This is just too much, huh?"

"M-Megumi-chan..."

"It's actually fun, Megumi-chan, never gets boring... Relaxation would be nice though..." Sakura shrugged.

"Alright. Two can play it that game. Kanae-chan, I've decided. Let's get eloped. I'll wear yellow and you wear blue. Green is the color of the world so why not?"

Kanae flushed and covered her face utterly humiliated. "Megumi-chan, no! That'd give my father a heart attack!"

Megumi licked her lips with a smile. "I wouldn't mind though, since it's you."

Anju and Sango could only trade slight smiles.

Sakura could only simply laugh.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"What could have caused her to change so badly?" Yuki wondered.

"Huh?" Arte wondered.

"Kami-chan may have been devious when we were younger, but she definitely wasn't evil," Yuki brooded.

"You think maybe Malladus corrupted her?" Akatsuki queried.

"Wait. From the stories okaa-san always told about Auntie Yuki, she and Kami-san really hated each other," Arte stated.

A question mark appeared over Yuki's head.

"Those stories used to spread a lot around the high school," Nick explained. "The truth is, those two were actually quite friendly. The only problem was that Kami-chan kept hitting on Saiki-kun."

Nick looked up at the sky, remembering one of those incidents in particular...

"_All right, see you in Biology!" Nick exclaimed to Momoko, the two splitting up for the lunch period, as Momoko had a basketball game to play with the juniors._

"_It's actually pretty nice today, huh?" Nick stated to nobody in particular. "For once, fall is cooperating with us. Doesn't look like anything could ruin this day."_

"_GUIDED TRINITY!"_

_The instant Nick heard those words, an explosion resounded nearby, out of sight of the rest of the playground._

_Nick immediately knew what had just happened, so he bolted towards the sight of the strike._

_When he arrived, he saw exactly what he'd expected: Kami standing there with her hair slightly ruffled, a visibly confused and freaked out Saiki, and a pissed off Yuki holding Tobiume in her hands. There were three holes in the nearby ground, no doubt created by whatever special attack Yuki had just attempted to use on the Scarlet Shade._

"_Um... Yuki-chan, you okay?" Nick asked. "And what did I tell you about bringing that thing out at school?"_

"_I caught this little TART making out with my Saiki-kun!" Yuki growled, aiming Tobiume at Kami again._

"_Hey, a girl has the right to be spontaneous when she wants to be, right?" Kami giggled. "Besides, I haven't seen Saiki-san in ages!"_

"_That doesn't give you the right to start making out with my boyfriend, spontaneousness or not!" Yuki shot back, swinging Tobiume in a threatening way._

"_Down, Yuki-chan," Nick admonished. Yuki instantly blushed at that._

"_You're... you're not mad, are you, onii-chan?"_

"_Hey, I'm just looking out for you, sis. I just don't want you blowing up every girl who even looks at Saiki-kun."_

"_I would have ran, anyway," Kami stated, smiling brightly. "I'm pretty fast."_

"_Don't think so, Akuko," Yuki shot back, waving her finger like a certain famous hedgehog. "My Guided Trinity can follow you anywhere. No running from that one."_

_Nick smiled. Those two were actually very close despite all the arguing they did over the young night elemental._

"You almost got her that day," Nick stated to Yuki.

"I almost did," Yuki giggled.

Nick stopped when he noticed something just up ahead. It was the Tower of Spirits, brimming with dark energy and separated into its four pieces.

"What the flying...?" Keri exclaimed.

"The Tower of Spirits," Nick explained. "I'm willing to bet Satoshi-kun and the others are in there. Let's hurry."

"LET'S GO, THEN!" Mana screamed. "We have to save onii-chan!"

And with that, the second group entered the tower.

A few seconds after, Natsuki and Haine poked out from the nearby bush.

"They're in there!" Haine exclaimed. "Let's go, Nat-chan!"

Haine quickly pulled Natsuki into the dark doorway.

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"This place is creepy," Yuki noted. There was no visible floor here in the dark realm, and the entire background was wrapped up in purple chains of energy. "Though I know it's not the first time we've been in the realm of darkness..."

Nick suddenly shivered, not wanting to relive those painful memories.

"You okay, jii-chan?" Mana asked.

"I don't want to remember that jerkoff..." Nick growled, trying to shove those memories away.

Suddenly, Yuki understood. "He's still inside you, isn't he?"

Nick looked back at his sister. "You still remember that, Yuki-chan?"

"How could I forget?"

"_This is the end, Yami."_

_Yami finally huffed, smirking._

"_Don't be so sure of yourself."_

_Nick raised an eyebrow._

"_Dark and light can't exist without the other, surely you know that."_

_Saiki perked up at that._

'_Nick-kun...'_

"_As long as you have your temper and your impatience, I'll always be there," he stated, matter-of-factly. "You can't kill me."_

"God, I hate Yami for what he made me do to you, sis," Nick growled. "And it's even worse that I can't get rid of him. Because he's my dark side, I can't ever get rid of him."

"Aw, Nick-kun~" Yuki giggled, rushing up to hug her brother.

A vibration.

A shiver.

Yuki suddenly realized something.

"Wait a minute."

Yuki released Nick and backed up a few steps.

Nick suddenly smiled viciously.

"**You've gotten smarter, Shinoya."**

The Buster Sword appeared in Nick's right hand as he charged straight for Yuki. The black witch just barely got Tobiume up in time to block the overhead strike.

"What the HELL, jii-chan?" Mana exclaimed.

"Oh, jeez... Yami must have possessed him again," Akatsuki noted. "It's gotta be this dark realm..."

Nick's clothes shifted to Yami's attire as if to confirm Akatsuki's theory.

"**The daytime elemental is surprisingly smart,"** Nick noted. **"Here in the Dark Passage, my own power is amplified enough to let me take over this boy's body. It's been sixteen years, Shinoya, but I will finally have the revenge I so rightfully deserve."**

"Fat chance, Yami!" Yuki exclaimed. "Nick-kun and I already defeated you twice, and we'll gladly do it a third time!"

"**Not if I kill you first,"** Nick shot back, lashing out again. The strike was quickly blocked.

"Um, guys? I could use some help here!" Yuki shouted to the rest of the group, trying to keep the Buster Sword away from her neck.

(Written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"What me? Sorry, I can't use my powers very well in a place like this, Yuki-chan. Besides, you seem to be handling your brother rather well, actually. Also... I still have your son and my nephew on my back."

Akatsuki shrugged, shifting said Satoshi on his back with a sigh.

"I can't help you, Yuki-chan. I apologize."

_It just wouldn't do any good anyway..._

"AKATSUKI-KUN, YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" the black witch exclaimed in return, utterly devastated. "SERIOUSLY?"

_I-I mean... I can't risk any harm coming to my Satoshi-kun but still, mou... That's not cool..._

"Like I said, I apologize."

The king smiled a bit sadly, and his daughter glanced at him a bit warily as a result.

"Uh... Are you, otou-san?" Arte asked, sweatdropping a bit. "I'd like to try and help Yuki-jou-san though, you know..."

Mana growled and charged forward, kicking a block Nick attempted and surprising her mom. "No worries, okaa-chan! I think I can handle Nick-jii-chan really well even when he's like this!"

"C-Careful, Mana-chan!" Yuki exclaimed, watching her daughter fight off her brother, quickly taking advantage of the moment Nick's attention was shifted, kicking him sharply in the torso, earning him to double over. "Careful there, sweetheart."

Mana only beamed.

"Do you think otou-chan would be proud of me?"

At that, her mother smiled but they both focused on the still possessed Nick, who was slowly recovering.

"**You'll... pay for that... brat."**

"Not a chance, Yami-_jii_. Revenge only leads to suffering. Allow me to show you that."

With that, Mana stood her ground, glowing brightly in a navy aura.

"_Kneel, Wabisuke!"_

Summoning her weapon, the small black-haired girl dashed at him to meet his Buster Sword. "Please leave my uncle's body and I won't hold too much of a grudge."

Yami's only response to that was to smirk.

Yuki perked up and started glowing herself, focusing all her power into her hands. "Yuumei, unite!"

Gathering up the proper dark energy, she didn't hesitate to unleash it on Yami when Mana jumped back.

"_Sutaraito Kiseki!"_

He was thrown back by the power of the five-tipped star and the night elemental quickly recovered, dashing up to tug onto her mom's arm.

"Now! While he's down, let's combine our powers!"

Yuki could only nod, taking her daughter's hand gentle. "Alright."

"_With the delicate bonds of family..."_ Mana chanted.

"_Exploiting the gentle fragility of love..."_ Yuki continued.

"_Such acts that defile such beautiful things will never be forgiven and for that, we shall act!"_ both Mana and Yuki chanted, letting their arms rest around each other while drawing their free hands back.

"_Double Ojamajo Faultless Penalty!"_

Yami perked up just as he was slammed with a barrage of dark, twilight, and even light energy, causing him to cry out in pain.

Keri blinked twice.

_Wait... Shouldn't they only be able to use the twilight magic and shadow magic...? In that case...!_

"Where'd the light magic come from? That should be impossible!" Célestine exclaimed in shock, only for Akatsuki to shake his head.

"No... Kellysi-kun's probably not crazy about having Yami-san taking over... I can tell."

"Can you really?" Arte wondered in slight surprise.

_How much does otou-san know about Nick-jii-san anyway?_

"Um, otou-san..."

"What is it, Arte-chan?" her father wondered, making her blush deeply almost automatically. "Is there something wrong?"

"O-Oh second thought, just forget it! It's nothing important!" the elder twin girl forced out a laugh, sighing heavily as she rubbed at the back of her head. "N-Never mind..."

_I should just wonder about it later... At least I know my otou-san will always do what's right..._

"Nick!" Yuki exclaimed as her brother fell, rushing forward to help him up. "Okay, I can't sense Yami anymore and he seems to be unconscious anyway... Uh, no worries?"

"I hope not, okaa-chan." Mana sighed. "Man, he just wasted out time! MY NII-CHAN IS STILL OUT THERE AND SUFFERING! I'M SO SCARED TO DEATH RIGHT NOW!"

"I-I'm worried about him, too!" Keri complained, flushing red. "This is the one and only _mon amour_ here! I can't let anything happen to Satoshi!"

_Because... if something did... I know that I would just never be able to forgive myself..._

"Mira is... Quick, this way!" Arte pointed, leading the way once again. "Where she is, Satoshi is as well so let's hurry!"

"Right!"

"Uh..." Yuki looked at her brother at a loss as the others rushed off before shrugging. "I'll just carry Nick-kun!"

Her beloved brother Nick-kun, she later discovered, was still every bit of unbearably heavy as when they were younger.

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"Nat-chan, we aren't lost, are we?"

"Weren't we just following them, Haine-chan?"

"..._Hmm_."

"Haine-chan?"

There was a short sigh.

"Man, we're lost."

"...That's what I was afraid of." Natsuki sighed, almost wanting to sob right then and there. "Y-You don't think that there are ghosts, right?"

"Ghosts are just upset spirits, Natsuki-chan! I thought we went over the fact that they do _not_ want to eat you..."

"That doesn't make them any less creepy though!"

Just as the two girls were discussing the fright of ghosts, Mira and Satoshi rushed by.

"This way, Satoshi!"

"_Right!"_

The two immediately perked up, and Natsuki and Haine quickly spun around in relief.

"Satoshi-kun, Mira-chan!"

"Huh...?" Mira stopped and turned around in surprise before beaming. "Haine-chan! Natsuki-chan!"

The two girls beamed though Natsuki perked up on noticing Satoshi floating, transparent, so spirit-like...

She paled. "S-Satoshi-kun's a g-g-g-g-ghost...?"

Satoshi blinked once and just waved, smiling softly.

And that was it for Natsuki, her eyes going up as she fell down, and soon Mira, Satoshi, and Haine were circled around her, a little curious.

"She's not dead is she?" Mira wondered.

"I think she is. What a shame." Haine sighed.

"_This is just my luck."_ Satoshi groaned. _"And it was pretty bad to begin with..."_

Mira just beamed.

"Let's drag her with us as we search for Satoshi's body~"

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"Man, where are they?" Sakura looked about tiredly, groaning as she did. "This is just lame..."

"Ain't that an interestin' choice of words," Raika noted before grinning. "Ya haven't changed, Sakura-chan."

"And what's THAT supposed to mean, Rai-chan?"

"No fighting please..." Kanae murmured, blushing quite darkly as Megumi quickly nodded.

"Listen to my Kanae-chan, you two! There's a time and place for everything after all..."

"Yeah, yeah, we know..." Sakura and Raika both sighed.

"To be expected," Sango proclaimed, earning Anju to just nod.

"Yes, indeed."

Sakura looked around one last time. "Hmm... That is a little strange though... But I can't put a finger on it either way so maybe it's just me..."

"What's the issue, Sakura-chan?" Megumi perked up. "Felt something weird that you can't really figure out? It'd help if you would inform us already..."

"I... I just feel like something... or someone is watching us..."

"C-Creepy!"

"Hey don't worry Kanae-chan, I'll protect you!"

"Megumi-chan..."

"Not the time, you two."

"Oh shut up, Sango-chan..."

"Uh... I wonder if Sakura-chan's right..."

"Aw, don't ya think too much 'bout it, Anju-chan!"

"Sure thing, Rai-chan... Sure thing..."

Unknownist to all of them, Sakura was completely right.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

"Well, dead end..."

Yuki sighed heavily when she realized there probably wasn't any way onwards.

"That's great. How the heck are we supposed to keep going now?" Mana exclaimed.

"You're asking the wrong girl, chéri," Keri responded.

Yuki was about to ask Akatsuki if he knew a way out, but was interrupted by a loud yawn coming from her brother.

"You okay, Nick-kun?"

"I should be. What just happened, Yuki-chan?"

Yuki smiled as she set her brother down onto his feet. Nick instantly knew the answer.

"Yami possessed me again, didn't he?"

"You don't have to worry, jii-chan!" Mana exclaimed. "Okaa-chan and I took care of that dark freak rather handily! He won't be bothering us anymore."

"That's good," Nick groaned. "I'm just glad I didn't do something I'm gonna regret for the rest of my life..."

"Nick-kun, I wouldn't have let you do that," Yuki giggled. "Besides, you would never do something like that. You love me too much to do something like that."

Nick didn't seem convinced. A particular memory began surfacing against his will...

"_ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! THAT WAS YOUR LAST MISTAKE!"_

"_NICK-KUN, NO!" Yuki screamed, jumping in between again, her arms spread out._

_Nick's eyes widened as blood was sprayed all over, his sword dropping to the ground at the sight of his sister._

"_Yuki-chan, no..."_

_Yuki was still miraculously standing, but her arms were trembling, and there was a deep cut through her shoulder and the end of her waist, her blood trickling down from her wounds._

"_YUKI-CHAN!" Saiki exclaimed in pure horror._

"_YUKI-CHAN!" Everyone else screamed, also horrified._

"_I-I... I told you to stop Nick-kun..." her voice trembled, tears trickling down her cheeks. "I told you not to harm Saiki-kun anymore... Why... Why did you try to do that? I... I can't even be angry... But..."_

_Nick snapped up as his sister glared at him, hurt, confused, and accusing all the same._

"_But I can't forgive you for harming Saiki-kun the way you did! I don't understand Nick-kun, why didn't you stop? Why?"_

"It's too late for that, Yuki-chan," Nick groaned. "I could have struck you down if my rage had blinded me any further."

"But I forgave you for that, Nick-kun."

"And I could never forgive myself for that."

Yuki sighed heavily at this. It had happened almost three decades ago, but Nick had apparently never forgotten what had occurred on that fateful day.

"Nick-kun."

Before Nick could fully turn around, Yuki had planted a kiss on his cheek and subsequently wrapped her arms around him.

"You don't have to keep beating yourself up over it, onii-chan. Remember, even if the world doesn't forgive you, I will."

Nick couldn't help but smile.

"Hello, peoples?"

The group spun around and noticed that Mira, Haine, and a transparent Satoshi had arrived, Mira carrying an unconscious Natsuki.

Satoshi immediately perked up. _"There's my body. Thanks for holding onto it for me, uncle."_

And with that, Satoshi's spirit separated into particles that absorbed themselves back into his physical body. "Wow, that was a trip," Satoshi stated when he was fully awake in his own body.

"Wha... SIS!" Mira exclaimed, rushing up to Arte and hugging her tightly.

"I finally found you, onee-chan! Where the heck have you been?"

"I got captured by Malladus, and then I went looking for you!"

"Um... why is Kashikoi-san out cold?" Keri asked.

"She thought Satoshi-kun was a ghost," Haine confessed.

"Smooth," Mira giggled.

"Hello? Can anybody hear us?"

Nick was the first to notice that Sakura, Raika, Anju, Sango, Megumi, and Kanae had also arrived on the scene.

"Hey, everybody's here!" Sakura exclaimed. "Otou-san, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

Truth be told, Nick was very happy to see his daughter alive and well, but that was quickly pushed aside when he felt an incredibly strong dark energy approaching quickly.

Mana walked up to Satoshi. "Hi, nii-chan."

"You're not mad at me for leaving you behind, are you, sis?"

Mana just shook her head before leaning forward and connecting her lips with her brother's for a few seconds, silently fulfilling the promise she had made to the Scarlet Shade.

_It feels nice._

When Mana pulled back, Satoshi's face was flushed.

"Aw, you're so cute, nii-chan."

Satoshi really couldn't say anything else.

When Nick saw something approaching fast, he quickly began to channel his magical energy into a spell he hadn't used in a long time.

"_Santen kesshun, I reject!"_

A brilliant field of light surrounded the entire group just in time to absorb the impact from an immensely powerful sphere of dark energy.

When Nick dispelled the shield, he saw the owner of that attack: a gigantic neon-green goblin-like creature with sharp horns and evil-looking yellow eyes.

The Demon King Malladus.

"**Well, well. We meet at last, pesky Ojamajos," **Malladus sneered.

"You're the one behind all of this, aren't you?" Sango accused, pointing a finger at Malladus.

"**I might be."**

"All right, let's just cut to the chase, Malladus," Nick challenged, summoning Hanyou Hikari and shifting into fighting stance. "What exactly do you want?"

"**Oh, it's very simple. I'm going to destroy each and every last one of you before I take over the world."**

"Fat chance, freak boy!" Megumi shot back. "Even though the Tower of Spirits was destroyed, as long as the Spirit Tracks remain, you're not going anywhere!"

"**True, but once I've destroyed the lot of you and taken your power, I'll have enough strength to bypass the chains of those wretched Spirit Tracks, so it doesn't really matter either way."**

"You're a stubborn little jerk, aren't you?" Raika growled.

"You're not getting away with what you've done if WE have anything to say about it!" Yuki shouted, summoning Tobiume and readying herself.

"**If you kids wish to fight me, you must prove yourselves worthy."**

Malladus gazed across the group, his eyes eventually settling on Mana.

"**You first."**

Mana began to glow with a purple light before eventually being whisked away.

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Mana reappeared in another dark place, trying to figure out what had just happened.

Looking in front of her, she saw Malladus' head floating in front of her, flanked by two long and gigantic arms with knives for fingernails.

"What in the living heck?" Mana exclaimed.

"**If you wish to fight my true form, you and two others must fight my previous forms. Defeat this form, and I will see if you are worthy."**

"Jeez, doesn't anyone have ANY respect these days?" Mana groaned, summoning Wabisuke and getting ready to fight.

(Written by **YukiShinoya444**)

_Okay, now if I just remember all the sword lessons that I had with okaa-chan and Uncle Nick... I think that I should be fine!_

_At least, er... I should be..._

Mana took a deep breath, holding Wabisuke close for just a moment. "Please do me good like you always have before, Wabisuke-chan."

At that statement, her weapon glowed a little more and Mana instantly knew it wouldn't let her down.

Malladus' hands swept towards her as she jumped out of the way, blocking them with Wabisuke as she grinned widely.

"No, you're not going to hurt me that easily! I'm a night elemental just like my father and I'm not going down!"

She batted the offending hands away before twirling around bringing her sword down on the arms only to do no visible effect.

_Okay, maybe not that will work..._ she thought to herself before remembering some things that her father had told her.

"_Humans, animals, magic users, monsters... They all act the same no matter how you look at it."_

"_What do you mean by that, otou-chan?" Mana asked curiously, pulling herself into her father's lap as he materialized a book to read, his daughter straining to read the pages as well._

"_You always read such strange things... The pictures are kind of cool though," she noted, staring at what seemed to be an illustration of unicorns and a strange snake-haired woman. "Pegasus and Medusa, right?"_

"_Yes, Pegasus was produced from the blood Perseus had spilled when he took Medusa's life... but that's beside the point," Saiki laughed, patting her head adoringly. "Do you want to listen or not, Mana-chan? You need to pay more attention..."_

"_Otou-chan, tell me! How is everyone alike? Is it the ability to fight back when being attacked?"_

"_Something like that..."_

"_Is it the ability to think?"_

"_It's a little like that..."_

"_Is it the ability to strategize even if they don't know it?" Mana's eyes were absolutely sparkling now and her dad chuckled. "Well, what is it?"_

"_It's more of instinct and less on the actual thought, Mana-chan," he explained, placing the book aside and holding her still against his chest, earning her to blush slightly at how nice it always felt._

_No, she had to pay attention._

"_Have you ever noticed someone who's blind on their right side will always be more defensive towards it since they realize that's their weak point? It's simple."_

"_Huh... Really?" Mana looked up with wide navy eyes. "Is that it?"_

"_That's it but it is a sure way to find a vulnerable point if you just pay enough attention. I've learned that that is most certainly something you need to keep in mind..."_

_He paused for just a moment before adding, "...especially when working with Nick-kun."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really."_

"_Okay!" Mana only beamed. "I'll definitely keep that in mind."_

Now back in the present and noticing how the arms were circling around what appeared to be a dark pillar from the ground, a smirk found its way to the young night elemental's face.

_That's it!_

"ALRIGHT, LOSER! Take THIS!" she exclaimed joyfully as she charged, swiping through the dark pillar with everything that she had, taking pride in how Malladus cried out at the attacks.

_Thanks, otou-chan!_

She jumped out of the way again, her smile widening even more as she defended herself from the oncoming blows with ease.

_This will be so easy._

"_Don't grow arrogant,"_ that was her father voice in her head again, earning her to freeze instantly in surprise. _"That was Nick-kun's downfall many, many times along with his lack of patience. Be patient and don't ever lessen your guard."_

Unfortunately that's what she had done and she was rewarded with a particularly hard smack from one of the hands as she cried out, falling to the ground with a grunt.

_That's right... I have to be on my toes at all times or else otou-chan will be disappointed!_

Still, she remembered more.

"_Those guys are really mean to nii-chan just because he's quiet and doesn't do anything! That just isn't right!" the young girl had fumed one day as her father simply sighed._

"_These things happen..."_

"_These things may happen, otou-chan, but I don't want them to! Onii-chan doesn't deserve it! So I beat 'em all up!" Mana looked impossibly proud of herself, but Saiki dropped the cup, it instantly shattering on the ground as his daughter perked up._

"_Otou-chan? Did I say something wrong?"_

"_You truly are your mother's child..." he murmured before leaning down to pick up the shards and eager to please as always, Mana assisted, pulling out her skirt to gather them in. "Thank you."_

"_It's nothing." She beamed and suddenly, her father looked uneasy._

"_Listen Mana-chan, you mustn't do that because such things will only cause more trouble..."_

"_But that's how Nick-jii-san solved his problems."_

"_Bullies will be bullies... But violence is a disease that only spreads and infects until everyone is hurt and miserable... Actually, even then, it doesn't stop." Saiki clicked his tongue. "Were they hurting Satoshi-kun in any way?"_

"_With words... Words are powerful though. Okaa-chan says so." Mana was so impossibly childish and adorable that it was almost bittersweet._

"_Mana-chan, words should only be fought with either more words or silence. We can't change how people think... but sometimes, they just aren't worth the trouble and sometimes, yes, we do have to smack them around a few times, but only as a last resort."_

_The little girl blinked twice._

"_A last resort?"_

"_Yes, and only for that reason, Mana-chan. Defense against violence is acceptable, but not when it's deliberately taunting..." Saiki waved his finger. "Only as a last resort should it be used."_

"_O... Okay..." Mana blushed heavily. "Okay."_

Malladus cried out again as she struck the pillar again up until it disappeared and when that happened, she turned to the head itself.

"I don't like you," she stated as if it was the simplest thing. "You hurt Satoshi."

_Violence can be answered with violence, though it isn't always advised... In this case, it is only a last resort._

"You hurt nii-chan," she repeated, batting away the knife-like fingernails as she stalked towards him, glaring at his expression-less face. "You hurt my family."

He didn't even have any words to that.

"You also hurt my two precious cousins, and you made okaa-chan cry before." Mana's face darkened. "I can only respond in one way to that."

With that, her eyes jolted wide and she charged, shoving through the hands seeking to grab her as she drove Wabisuke right between Malladus' eyes.

"How's _that_ for worth?" the young night elemental spat into his shocked gaze, driving it even deeper with a smirk. "You are done."

And then everything went white.

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When Mana reappeared, she immediately found herself in a tight embrace, her brother hesitantly running his fingers through coal locks.

"Y-You scared me there, Mana-chan..." Satoshi admitted sheepishly. "Just watching you go and disappearing like that wasn't very fun at all..."

"Uh, nii-chan..." she blushed lightly. "You're real warm as always..."

"Mana-chan, are you alright?" Sakura demanded as she rushed up and Mana could only nod.

"Yeah, I beat him easy... Though..."

"It isn't over yet," Akatsuki chirped as they all looked up. "Well, look at that."

It was Malladus, growling and appearing more tired than he was earlier.

"**Well... Impressive. Let's see if that wallflower of a last link can do any better."**

But before anyone could demand what he meant, Satoshi was the one who disappeared right in Mana's arms.

"SATOSHI-NII-CHAN!" she exclaimed as Yuki and Célestine gasped in horror. Even Arte and Mira looked impossibly worried.

"Satoshi!"

_Satoshi..._ Keri thought with a gulp as she frowned darkly. _Oh, Satoshi... Will you do as well, really?_

"You better get back," she found herself murmuring, fists clenching at her sides. "You better get back to me as soon as possible..."

"He'll be fine," Akatsuki spoke up, ignoring the furious glare Yuki gave him. "He has both Sai and Yuki-chan's power after all..."

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

When he trusted himself enough to open his eyes again, Satoshi found himself on a stained glass platform in the middle of an abyss of nothingness. When he looked down, he noticed that a picture of himself adorned the mural on the floor.

Malladus, in the form they'd all seen in the Dark Realm, ambled up to the last link, growling menacingly.

Satoshi wasn't frightened in the least, shifting into fighting stance and letting his natural element flow around his hands.

"**Well, then. Let us see how much you have improved since the last we met."**

"Yes. Let's."

Satoshi leapt into the air, firing a spread of dark energy at Malladus, but the being of the darkness easily absorbed the shot and fired it right back.

Satoshi made an attempt to dodge, but he wasn't quick enough and was slammed into the floor of wherever they were.

_Darn it, this isn't good,_ Satoshi thought, steadying himself. _He's a lot stronger than I thought he was._

"**Is that really the best you can do?"** Malladus taunted. "**I'd have expected better from you, last link."**

"I'm just getting started, Malladus!" Satoshi exclaimed, forming energy swords on his hands, a trademark of his mother.

Satoshi wasted no time in leaping right for Malladus, slashing twice at the beast's face and leaving two long scars across his face.

"**ARGH! You will pay for that, you brat!"**

"Tell me something I don't know," Satoshi shot back.

"**Very well, then. Taste oblivion!"**

Electricity began sparking between Malladus' horns. Satoshi barely had any chance to defend as an immensely powerful beam of energy rocketed from Malladus' horns and slammed into Satoshi, sending him sprawling to the ground.

_Damn it! This isn't working,_ Satoshi thought, struggling to get up. _I'm not going to die here, but he's a lot stronger than I am. So what in the heck do I..._

Suddenly, Satoshi remembered something.

_Wait a minute! Of course!_

"_What did you say, Kellysi-kun?" Satoshi asked._

_Nick just smiled. "I said exactly what I said, Satoshi-kun. You don't need to be so afraid of your own dark power."_

_Satoshi didn't seem convinced. "But... isn't darkness something unnatural?"_

_Nick shook his head. "Were those idiots at school saying stupid things again?"_

_Satoshi nodded._

"_They don't understand darkness like yours, Satoshi-kun," Nick explained. "They fear your power because it's something they don't understand. If you want to be strong like your mother, you have to embrace your darkness as part of yourself, just like with your light. Darkness and light can't exist without the other, you know."_

"_But the last time I unleashed my dark power, I hurt okaa-san," Satoshi noted._

"_You weren't concentrating," Nick continued. "Power like yours can be pretty uncontrollable if you don't know what you're doing. But darkness can be controlled, despite what those babbling idiots say about it. Why don't you give it a shot?"_

_Satoshi slowly nodded, still a little scared of what could happen. But he definitely trusted his uncle._

"_All right. Here goes... something," Satoshi stated, crossing his arms over his chest._

"_**Dark magic... RELEASE!"**_

_A massive aura of darkness flared to life around Satoshi, rumbling the ground a bit._

_When he trusted himself enough to open his eyes, he looked around. Nothing seemed out of place._

"_Hey! It worked!" Satoshi exclaimed. His dark aura was shimmering violently, but he hadn't lost control of himself._

"_See, Satoshi-kun?" Nick stated. "Darkness CAN be controlled. You just have to concentrate."_

"_Thanks, uncle Nick," Satoshi commented._

_That's what I have to do,_ Satoshi thought. _I just have to concentrate so my powers won't overwhelm me._

His mind made up and his resolve steeled, Satoshi turned back to Malladus.

"**So, are you going to prove yourself?"**

"If you want me to step it up, Malladus, just remember that you asked for it!" Satoshi shot back, the air around him shimmering and wobbling.

"_**Dark magic... RELEASE!"**_

Satoshi's dark power flared to life around his body, forcing Malladus to back up a few steps.

"Yeah, you're scared, aren't you?" Satoshi shouted. _Otou-san would be proud of me if he sees how brave I've gotten. I'm not going to be a timid little wallflower ANYMORE!_

Satoshi wasted no time in rushing straight towards the Demon King, unleashing a flare of darkness that did sizable damage.

Intent on finishing the fight, Satoshi raised his hands, several spheres of dark energy appearing around Malladus.

"Okaa-san taught me this trick," Satoshi stated. "You are finished. _SOUL LIGHTS!_"

With that, all of the spheres converged on Malladus, covering the area in a bright light.

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Back in the Dark Passage, Satoshi reappeared in front of the group, and Mana was the first to react, rushing up to hug her big brother.

"Easy, Mana-chan," Satoshi groaned. Mana always hugged him too hard.

"But you're just so cute, nii-chan," Mana replied, kissing Satoshi on the cheek.

"All right, Malladus, who's next?" Sakura asked.

"**That would be you."**

Sakura focused her inner strength so she could take flight.

"Anytime, anywhere, you sick freak!"

And with that, Sakura disappeared in a flash.

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When Sakura could see, she was in the middle of a cloudy setting with no ground in sight.

Sakura was infinitely glad she could fly, her mother having met a dream spirit a long while before she was born, and that ability having been passed down to her.

"All right, Malladus, don't be such a coward! Show yourself!" Sakura challenged.

Malladus floated up from the clouds below. This form appeared to be similar to the shape of a dragon, only Malladus had long, jet-black wings sprouting from his back.

"Showdown in the sky," Sakura proclaimed. "This is my ELEMENT, Malladus. You can't beat me here!"

"**Put up or shut up, brat,"** Malladus shot back.

(Written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"Do you think Sakura-chan will be alright, nii-chan?" Mana wondered as she twirled her fingers around her brother's hand and he could only gulp.

"Yeah, I... I'm sure that she'll be fine..."

"Hey, Sato?"

Satoshi instantly perked up and turned to where Keri was standing there with a sad smile.

"Oh... Célestine...?"

"Look, can I, er... after all this is over, Satoshi... I'd like to speak with you about a few things, mon cher."

The last link blinked in confusion at first before nodding simply.

"Uh... Sure thing."

Yamasaki smiled sadly, remembering something important.

"_The only reason why I gave your father a chance was because he seemed sincere for the most part... Most of my fans, they flat out avoided me when I burst into tears in public because they thought I needed space..."_

_Running her fingers through her daughter's soft long coal-black hair that was almost an exact replica of her own, Kurumi could only simply hum in approval._

"_You're growing up to be more like me every single say, Célestine... So beautiful like a true belle..."_

"_So what was this about Papa, exactly?" Keri asked quickly lest her mama get distracted as she tended to oh so very often._

"_O-Oh yes..."_

_Her mother cleared her throat. "When I cried, Shiro-kun immediately approached me and tried to calm me down. Everyone thought I needed space, but only he seemed to realize that I needed contact and touch more than anything else..."_

"_So contact is important... Well, I already fell and kissed him by accident once, so a few more times that aren't so accidental can't possibly hurt."_

"_You need to be careful with Satoshi-kun, though. Yuki-chan would kill me if you caused him too much trouble..." Kurumi giggled though. "Just be sincere in all of your actions and do all that you can do for him whenever possible, alright?"_

"_Right!"_

Keri's smile faltered at the memory.

_I sure hope that I haven't forgotten all of that... That would be bad._

"Sakura-chan..." she found herself saying. "I sure hope you can handle yourself though."

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"Wow!" Sakura exclaimed in amazement as thunder boomed and lightning flashed around them, in awe at all the sights yet still evading Malladus, twisting and snarling through each of the gray clouds. "It's quite beautiful."

She then flew out of the way of a particular dark energy wave, laughing all the while. "Get real, Malladus, I'm not letting my guard down that easily!"

Silence ringed before just a moment before a crash disrupted from the rumbling all around them.

_Where'd he go...? _Sakura wondered, not noticing the tail coming up from behind her until it was much, much too late.

"OW!" she exclaimed as it slammed against her back, successfully drawing blood as she gripped at her shoulder with a sharp hiss. "Playing dirty, coward?"

The bloodstained tip slithered back into the clouds, Malladus chuckling all the while the girl growled.

"Oh no _way_..." she hissed, rushing towards him.

"Take this! _Mystic Arte, Infinitia Soul_!" With that, she threw her fist into his tail, earning Malladus to cry out as she took the slippery thing, digging her fingers into it.

_Let's have some fun with this._

"**What... do you think you're doing?"** Malladus snarled, thrashing and trying to shake her up as she scaled his scales, smirking widely all the while. **"Get off, you brat!"**

Sakura kicked his tail away when it came down and easily dodged his claws, keeping her fingers stuck into the surface.

_Sheesh, I never thought this sort of thing would be possible but it seems that it is... oh well..._

"Oomph!" she groaned as she flattened herself against the scales, swiftly ducking over his flailing tail against though she winced when his claws dug into her arm like knives.

_T-That hurts... It really hurts... but not now... I can't give up just yet! Where am I even going with this anyway?_

Sakura's eyes jolted wide in realization. _Wait..._

"_Sakura-chan..." Anju began to say just as she was brutally shoved back by a crimson energy._

_The Scarlet Shade chuckled, licking the blood off her hands where she caught Sakura's weapon as she pushed herself up, shaking her head to clear her mind of what just happened._

"_Give me a break. You're form was off and easily avoidable. Who do you learn from? That person is an idiot."_

_Sakura growled at that and Kami raised one eyebrow before nonchalantly waving her hand in a 'come here' motion._

"_Well, go ahead. Prove yourself. Though that adorable last link still outdoes you so I guess it's hopeless."_

_The Quartz Purifier immediately turned surprised._

"_The last link? Who?"_

"_What? You honestly don't know? I'm talking about your cousin... Not the bratty one, the impossibly cute one."_

_Sakura blinked, trying to understand._

"_You know what? This is boring."_

_Sakura immediately snapped out of her confusion, taking no time to quickly swipe at Kami though she ducked out of the way._

"_Oh, now this is more like it!"_

"_Hold still!"_

"_Touchy, touchy. You're like your father."_

_Kami smirked as she continued dodging._

"_I was told about you and the others, you know... How interesting, though I must admit I'm not easily amazed. So it's good for you but kinda sad for me."_

_Sakura was almost tempted to question why. She nearly dropped her sword though when she noticed Kami's eyes glow a deep red and jumped back._

"_I'll admit defeat for now, missy. But you'll see me again. Ciao."_

"_W-Wait!" Sakura exclaimed as she rushed forward, only to be stopped by the crimson-eyed girl driving her foot into her stomach, making her revert back to normal, falling backwards in shock._

"_You're not your father, girl. You need to find your own strategy and use it to its extent."_

_...A strategy! That's what she meant all that time ago! I guess I ought to thank her... in the next life or something._

"Alright!" Sakura exclaimed softly, ignoring the jabbing pain in her arm and shoulder, blood dripping down her fingertips and down into the sky below as she crawled onto his stomach, facing his snarling face with a s grin.

"Heya," she greeted with a salute only to jump off when he thrust his claws into where she was, roaring with pain as they penetrated the scales into the more sensitive parts beneath.

"Oh come on, that's the oldest trick in the book!" Sakura laughed, still wincing while Malladus managed to sneer.

"**You aren't in better shape, girl."**

"Yes, that's true," the said girl responded as a light sword formed into her hands. "Let's level the playing field just a little more."

Then Sakura charged, slashing across the vulnerable skin, no longer protected by the scales as he screamed.

"You need to be more careful, buddy." She teased with a smirk, flying out of his grasp just as blackened blood dripped from the wounds. "It hurts, doesn't it... but you can't die yet."

Silence for just a moment.

"So what do you want me to do?"

Malladus panted, huffing as he clutched at his energy, wings still fluttering.

"There must be something. Or do you just want me to just keep torturing you?"

Then he laughed and Sakura was about to ask what was so funny when a familiar knife-like tail wrapped around her bloodied arm, earning a pained gasp.

"Don't be so arrogant," he growled and Sakura screamed when electricity traveled from his tail and all across her body, sending coursing pain throughout her nerves and making her limbs spasm uncontrollably.

"O-Oh _god_..." she whimpered, light flashing through her eyes and mind numb to everything except the aching agony.

Then he released her and Sakura fell.

_Is this how it's going to end... with my literal 'fall from grace'? Talk about cliché and ironic._

She sighed heavily, eyes shutting tightly.

_I'm so sorry, everyone... I don't know what to do now..._

Sakura soon opened her eyes again, those same eyes widening as she spotted Malladus swooping down, claws extended.

_Seriously?_

Then she noticed a patch on his neck without a single scale, perfectly vulnerable.

_Alright._

Sakura smirked, forming her fist into a knife right behind her back.

"SORRY, MALLADUS!" she exclaimed, unable to help grinning widely, as she drove in the sharpened edge into his neck. "CHECKMATE!"

Then it all went white.

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When she woke up, she was with her cousins on her back, both of them looking horrified.

"S-Sakura-chan..."

"Oh hey, Mana-chan, Satoshi-kun," Sakura greeted them with a laugh as she pushed herself up, rubbing at her forehead. "Did I win?"

"Well, you look quite tired..." Mana observed.

"But otherwise uninjured," Satoshi added. "Pretty much."

Sakura stared at her no longer injured arm with a frown.

_Huh. Really?_

"Strange..."

"That's beside the point," Yuki finally stated as her brother watched his daughter worriedly while Mira and Arte clung to one another, Akatsuki mindlessly patting the elder's head, fiddling with her ponytail. "Malladus."

"He must be around here somewhere..." Natsuki murmured, clinging to Haine's back as she looked around.

"I don't sense him yet," Raika stated with a huff. "Strange..."

"Sango-chan, um..." Anju clung to her arm, sniffling as Sango patted her head with a smile.

"No worry, Anju-chan."

"That can't be right..." Kanae started as everyone perked up, including a confused Megumi. "This isn't right..."

"It's not over yet," Keri said softly, looking about. "There are still a few more battles to take care of."

A dark chill overcame each of them and Akatsuki had to sigh softly.

"Well, this will certainly be most interesting... Kellysi-kun, Yuki-chan, prepare yourselves. Arte-chan, Mira-chan... stay close."

The four didn't hesitate to obey.

And they all waited.

(Written by **S.P.D. Gold Ranger**)

There was nothing but silence for a good few minutes.

"Okay, is Malladus toying with us now?" Raika exclaimed.

Suddenly, Nick sensed something nearby.

He turned towards his sister, wondering what that was.

His heart nearly stopped when he saw something hurtling towards Yuki.

"YUKI-CHAN, INCOMING!"

Nick rushed over to his sister's side, summoning Hanyou Hikari into his hands and slashing towards the lanky arm with knife-like fingers that had been set to impale the black witch.

"Quit being a coward, Malladus! Show your face!" Nick challenged.

And show his face, Malladus did. This form appeared to be a conglomeration of the three forms the kids had just faced: long lanky arms with knife-like fingernails, dark angel wings on the main body, a long, sword-like tail, and even worse, three heads, each one representing one of the forms.

"Now THAT'S ugly," Keri noted.

"**This is where it will all end for you, brats!"** Malladus exclaimed. **"Prepare to feel my unbridled wrath!"**

"Okay, everybody, I think we're gonna need to work together if we're going to beat this freakazoid," Yuki stated. "So who's going first?"

"Me!" Mana exclaimed, drawing Wabisuke. "Jii-chan and I will tag-team him."

"**The kids rush to die first, huh?"** Malladus proclaimed, swinging his long arms.

Mana easily blocked the nails with a strike from Wabisuke so Nick could hop off of her shoulders and slash at Malladus' middle head.

"Check," Nick proclaimed.

"**You little..."**

"_The waves of my own feelings, take this! Ojamajo Twilight Rain!"_

Before Malladus could strike back, a flurry of twilight energy beams hammered at all three heads, forcing him to back off.

"Don't touch my onii-chan," Yuki growled.

"Me next!" Raika exclaimed. "This is the perfect excuse to try that combination Sakura-chan and I have been practicing."

"All right, Rai-chan, let's do it!" Sakura exclaimed, the two of them rushing towards Malladus and summoning their own weapons.

As Malladus whipped his tail out towards the two witches, Sakura and Raika jumped over the strike, tossing their weapons into the air.

"This is where things get fun!" Raika exclaimed. "Just like beating papa in volleyball!"

Nick had a good laugh at that.

Sakura and Raika joined hands with each other, catching their weapons with their feet before beginning to spin around wildly, their weapons slashing at Malladus multiple times.

After a while, the two took their weapons back into their hands, and together they delivered a final X-strike that sent Malladus reeling.

When they landed, Sakura and Raika high-fived each other just as Keri rushed up, her hands glowing with the color of the moon.

Not wasting any time, the "child of the moon", as Kurumi had often called her, began lashing out at Malladus' main body, not daring to let up for a second.

After a bit of this, Keri hopped back, charging moonlight energy into her palms.

"Chow on this!" Keri exclaimed, thrusting her palms forward and unleashing a barrage of moonlight energy beams that hammered at Malladus' body.

"Tag out!" Sango exclaimed, rushing forward with Anju in tow. "Mommy taught us this trick."

"You can just call her 'mom' now, Sango-chan," Anju giggled. "You're twelve going on thirteen."

Sango just blushed before holding her arms out. Two gigantic speakers appeared around Malladus.

"Can you feel the NOISE?" Sango exclaimed before clapping her hands together. The speakers unleashed a deafening sonic boom that forced Malladus to the ground.

"Okay, here I go!" Anju shouted, holding her hands above her head. A heart appeared in her hands, made of pure energy.

"Gotcha!" Anju proclaimed, tossing the energy heart into Malladus' prone form.

"My turn," Natsuki responded, bringing her flute out. She played a little tune on the flute, causing it to glow brightly. Not a second later, she flicked the flute down towards Malladus, and it unleashed a bright beam of light that struck Malladus in his middle head, bringing him down to the floor.

"**STOP TOYING WITH ME!"**

"Well, you're toying with us, so that makes us even," Haine responded, bringing out her microphone just as Malladus charged straight for her.

Haine responded to this by singing one of her mother's old songs. This singing created an energy field around her that bounced Malladus backwards.

Arte and Mira quickly stepped up, ready to deal out some pain.

"Let's get 'em, Mira-chan!" Arte exclaimed.

The twins quickly rushed forward, their hands glowing a bright purple.

They quickly hopped to both sides of Malladus, holding their hands towards each other.

"Eat this! _ETERNAL VORTEX!_" Arte and Mira exclaimed, a vortex opening up around Malladus and dragging him into it, causing some serious damage.

Before anyone could ask what to do next, Megumi and Kanae rushed up, their hands joined.

"_To the spirits of purity..." _Kanae chanted.

"_For the one true hope..."_ Megumi continued.

"_Together into our hands, we shall eliminate the negative energy from this world!"_

The two winked at each other before turning to Malladus.

"_Double Ojamajo Flash Freeze!"_

Megumi and Kanae thrust their hands forward, discharging a massive blue beam that froze Malladus in his spot.

Just then, Nanaka rushed forward, her hands glowing a bright pink.

"How about this?" Nanaka exclaimed, throwing a sphere of energy into the air that rained multiple energy beams onto Malladus' prone form.

Asami appeared a second later, throwing a flurry of razor-sharp leaves that broke the ice and stunned Malladus.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Nick wondered. "Aren't you supposed to be watching Momoko?"

"_God of healing, bless those that stand before you and grant me the righteous power to vanish evil!"_ a familiar voice chanted.

Nick looked behind him, and noticed Momoko standing there with her wand out and glowing with a bright gold light.

Not wasting any time, Momoko slashed at the air with her glowing wand, preparing to leap into the sky.

"_Mystic Arte! Radiant Roar!"_ Momoko exclaimed, leaping skyward and thrusting her wand into the air. The crystal in the wand shined with a bright gold light before bursting outwards, creating a rain of golden energy that showered the battlefield and did some serious damage to Malladus.

"You all right, sweetie?" Nick asked.

"Yep!" Momoko giggled. "I finally started feeling better around the time you guys started beating on Malladus, so Nanaka-chan and Asami-chan let me find my way over here. Looks like I came here just in time, huh?"

"You sure did, auntie!" Mana exclaimed. "Sakura-chan! Satoshi-nii-chan! Let's finish this freak show off once and for all!"

Sakura and Satoshi rushed up to Mana, all three of them joining hands and glowing with an immensely bright light. Nick was quick to rush up to the kids and join in.

"_Moments that are like precious treasures that I want to go on collecting..."_ Mana chanted, glowing a bright black.

"_Without revealing that irremovable wound in my heart, somehow managing to stay strong..."_ Sakura continued, glowing a golden yellow.

"_Waiting for your delicate embrace, somehow managing to hold onto that wonderful happiness we shared..."_ Satoshi chanted, glowing a silvery gray.

"_Until in the end, we can all get that well-deserved happy ending_," Nick finished, glowing a brilliant emerald green.

They all threw their hands up, their aura mixing as Malladus just continued to watch in shock.

"_Without complexities, without fading and faltering, grant us the blessing and wish for something that is surely better than this ill-determined fate!"_

They got close, their auras all pulsing like never before.

"_Ojamajo Perfect Purification!"_

With that, the four Elemental Angels discharged their massive rainbow-colored beam that enveloped Malladus and quite literally obliterated him.

"YES!" Sakura exclaimed. "OWNED!"

"Good job, Satoshi-kun," Akatsuki stated, patting Satoshi on the head. "Your father would be quite proud of you."

Satoshi just blushed at that.

"All right, peoples, let's get the heck out of here!" Mana exclaimed.

And so, everyone headed for the exit to the Dark Passage.

But just when it seemed like it was all over, some invisible force pushed everyone but Mana, Sakura, and Satoshi into the gate, which quickly closed.

"What the heck?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Who did that?" Mana shouted.

Satoshi turned around, only to notice something emerging from the darkness.

It was the three heads of Malladus, attached to a brand new body.

"Oh, THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Mana screamed.

"**I told you brats that you would not be leaving here alive,"** Malladus proclaimed.

"How many times do we have to stomp you?" Mana shouted.

Malladus just smirked, raising his arm to stomp the three kids out of existence.

But his attack was interrupted when Nick, who had transformed into his super form, flew onto the scene and knocked the arm out of its path.

Malladus roared loudly, aiming another attack for Nick, but Yuki, also in her own super form, flew in and roundhouse kicked Malladus in his middle.

"We'll take care of things here!" Nick exclaimed.

"You guys get out of her and stay with the group!" Yuki exclaimed.

"What about you two?" Sakura asked.

"We'll be fine," Nick responded. "We just have something to take care of."

Sakura nodded, leading Mana and Satoshi out of the Dark Passage.

"All right, Malladus, now it's just you and us," Nick proclaimed. "Let's put an end to this once and for all."

_koboredasu itami sae nijinda kage e to kuchihateta  
__(Even this outburst of pain crumbles into the creeping shadows)_

Nick began by flying around to Malladus' side and peppering the dark being with rapid-fire energy bursts to give Yuki enough time to charge up her own attack.

"**How about you stop annoying me like the bugs you are?"** Malladus exclaimed.

"Sorry, buddy, but this is actually part of the plan," Nick proclaimed, pointing to his sister, who had finished charging up her move.

"Now take this! _Heart Spiral!_" Yuki shouted.

_itsuwari ga kirisaita chikai no shita de kazashita tenohira  
__(Under a vow, I tore open all falsehood with my bare hands)_

Yuki thrust her hands forward, unleashing a spiral of hearts that slashed mercilessly at Malladus.

"How do you like that?" Yuki taunted, waving her finger like a certain famous hedgehog...

...until Malladus reached out to snatch Yuki in his iron grip.

"**I am through playing games with the likes of you,"** Malladus proclaimed, preparing to squeeze the life out of the black witch.

_aganai wo machiwabite ita setsuna no tenshi  
__kuruwaseteta yoru e izanae  
__(Oh transient angel, restless for our atonements  
__Lead us into the night of chaos!)_

Nick was over there in a flash, using his supercharged Hanyou Hikari to quite literally lop Malladus' hand off, which caused the dark being to scream in agony as Yuki broke free of the hand, which clattered to the ground and dissipated into nothingness.

"**You wretches! How dare you take away what proves me superior to these worthless humans?"**

"You must have some crossed wires, Malladus," Yuki taunted. "You're not superior to humanity just because you're strong. You're just another jerk thinking he can rule things all by himself."

"And I think you need to be taught a lesson," Nick continued.

_sekai ga owari wo tsugete mo saigo no kibou idakitai  
__(Even if the world is about to end, I want to hold onto one final hope)_

Malladus roared loudly before charging for the two siblings. Nick reached out to grab Malladus by the horns, just barely holding him back.

"Yuki-chan! Assistance, please!" Nick shouted.

"By all means!" Yuki giggled, flicking her right hand out. _"Shutsuga Tobiume! Flick them with the mysterious energy of twilight!"_

Yuki flew forwards, avoiding Malladus' other limbs and eventually making a mighty downward slash that sheared off both horns.

Malladus roared in agony again, quite angry now.

_chikatta ano hi ano basho de tomo to asu no tame ni...  
__(At that place, on that day when I took my oath, for my friends and for our tomorrow...)_

"**You will pay for insulting me!"** Malladus roared, energy sparking inside his mouth.

"Oh, jeez," Nick stated, bracing himself for the attack.

However, at the very last second, Malladus jerked his head towards Yuki and fired the blast straight for her.

Nick just barely got over there in time, spreading his arms out and taking the full force of the attack.

"Nick-kun, why'd you do that? I could have handled that no problem!" Yuki exclaimed.

"I'm not breaking my promise, Yuki-chan," Nick stated, shivering a bit under the damage he'd taken.

_kanashimi ni michita utsuro na kyouzou kuzurete yuku kokoro wo aganae  
__(Hollow reflection, full of sadness, repent for thy withering heart!)_

"**Pathetic promises can not save you from my wrath!"** Malladus roared, his two side heads firing rapid energy pellets for the two siblings.

As they continued to dodge, Nick noticed something: Malladus' horns hadn't evaporated when Yuki had sliced them off.

_That might just be our ticket to winning this battle,_ Nick thought. _We just need a good distraction._

"Yuki-chan!" Nick exclaimed.

"Got it!" Yuki responded, implying she knew exactly what Nick was thinking.

Yuki flew forward, eventually landing on Malladus' back.

"**Get off of me!"**

"You're gonna have to make me!" Yuki taunted.

_ikusen no toki no naka samayoi tsuzuketa kimi no te ga  
__(Your hand that is lost inside the boundless time)_

Malladus began thrashing wildly in an attempt to throw Yuki off, but the black witch simply jammed Shutsuga Tobiume into Malladus' back to hold on.

As Malladus thrashed about, Nick flew down to the ground and scooped up one of the wayward horns.

When Nick gave the signal, Yuki retracted her weapon and hopped off, distracting Malladus long enough for Nick to fly up and jam the horn into the dark beast's left eye.

_eien no nemuri e to ochite yuku boku wo hikiyoseta  
__(...is pulling me away from falling into an eternal sleep)_

As Malladus jerked around, Nick decided to stop playing and yank the horn right out of the eye. Nothing was left of it.

"**ARGH! How can this be?"** Malladus screamed. **"I am immortal!"**

"Okay, I'm really getting sick of you saying that," Nick shot back, slashing across Malladus' side.

_furueru yubisaki e tsutau setsuna no negai  
__tsuzurareta kotoba ga kagayaku  
__(A brief wish is being told to my shaky fingers  
__And the spell comes alight!)_

"He just doesn't wanna go down, Nick-kun," Yuki noted. "No matter how much damage we do to him, he just keeps coming back for more!"

Nick just smiled. "I think we just gotta take out his other eye and he'll be a sitting target."

_namida wa kareru koto mo naku asu e to tada nagarete yuku  
__(The tears will never run dry, they will only flow into tomorrow)_

"**Come over here and take your due punishment," **Malladus proclaimed, slowly marching forward.

Nick and Yuki stood still, ready for whatever Malladus would pull.

Just then, Malladus swung his head, and a bolt of lightning crashed down onto the two siblings, causing a good bit of damage.

"Okay, was NOT expecting that one," Yuki growled.

_mezameta ano hi ano basho de tomo to asu no tame ni...  
__(To that place, on that day when I had risen again, for my friends and for our tomorrow...)_

Yuki flew forward, completely serious now. "Come on, jerkoff! Let's play cat and mouse! _Shadow Claw!_"

Yuki slashed at Malladus' face, particularly what was left of Malladus' left eye.

Yuki continuously came back for more strikes, each Shadow Claw strike leaving visible damage on Malladus' face.

While all this was happening, Nick scooped up the other horn that Yuki had sheared off.

Not wasting a single second, Nick rushed forward, and after Yuki had delivered one final Shadow Claw strike, then rushed away, giving Nick the leeway to jam the horn into Malladus' remaining eye.

"**AGH! You wretches will pay for mutilating me!"** Malladus exclaimed.

"You really can't see anymore, so you can't find us," Nick explained. "And your aura's getting weaker by the second. Once again, I'm left without a challenge."

"**You would dare mock me?"** Malladus growled. **"You once admitted that I was stronger than you!"**

"You were," Nick continued. "But the kids wore you down so badly that you're no match for me now."

_tokihanatsu kotoba mo itsuka wa bokura wo iyasu monogatari  
__(And someday, those words that were spoken will be the tale that shall heal us)_

"Yuki-chan, let's finish this," Nick stated, flying up to his sister.

"I couldn't agree more, Nick-kun," Yuki giggled, joining hands with her brother.

_kagami ni utsushidasu sugata terasu hikari  
__(The emerging reflection on the mirror, the shining light)_

Malladus whipped his head around, trying to find Nick and Yuki, but no such luck.

"Ready, Nick-kun!" Yuki exclaimed, the two of them rushing to opposite sides of Malladus.

Not wasting any time, Nick and Yuki slammed their weapons into the ground, creating a glyph under Malladus that erupted into a geyser of energy that slashed mercilessly at him.

The two of them wasted no time in zipping forward. Once they'd gotten close enough to Malladus, Yuki hopped to Malladus' other side as they readied their assault.

_sekai ga owari wo tsugete mo saigo no kibou idakitai  
__(Even if the world is about to end, I want to hold onto one final hope)_

"_Together as one!"_ Nick chanted.

"_As it always should be!"_ Yuki chanted.

With that, Nick and Yuki both started attacking, slashing at Malladus in synchronized movements before stepping back and charging straight at Malladus, delivering powerful horizontal strikes and rushing straight through him at the same time.

That accomplished, Nick and Yuki both leapt into the air, crossing their weapons.

"_Let's show them!"_ Yuki exclaimed.

"_Run them through!"_ Nick responded.

Their weapons began glowing with a bright silver light.

_chikatta ano hi ano basho de tomo to asu no tame ni...  
__(At that place, on that day when I took my oath, for my friends and for our tomorrow...)_

"_Mystic Arte! Bushin Soutenha!"_ Nick and Yuki exclaimed, slashing their weapons across each other. This sent two energy beams from each of their weapons that eventually joined together and spiraled into a massive corkscrew of energy that slashed mercilessly at Malladus.

_owaru koto no nai namida wo dakishime utsukushiki rakuen wo aishite...  
__(I embrace these endless tears and adore the beautiful paradise...)_

Malladus roared in pain, thrashing about wildly.

"You're still alive, you freak?" Yuki exclaimed.

"Not for long, he isn't," Nick responded. "One more, Yuki-chan."

Yuki giggled and nodded.

_kanashimi ni michita utsuro na kyouzou kuzurete yuku kokoro wo aganae  
__(Hollow reflection, full of sadness, repent for thy withering heart!)_

"_By the celestial moons..."_ Yuki chanted.

"_By the spirits of the sun..."_ Nick continued.

"_Let the spear of justice pierce the fabric of darkness!"_

A bow made of pure light energy formed in Nick's hands as Yuki fitted a glowing arrow into the string, drawing it back and aiming right for the center of Malladus' head.

"_Double Ojamajo Celestial Arrow!"_

With that, Yuki fired the arrow, a shining aura surrounding it. After a bit of traveling, the arrow struck Malladus' head dead-center.

And that was the end for the dark beast, who eventually stopped thrashing completely, slumped down to the floor, and evaporated into little particles until nothing was left of the Great Demon King Malladus.

"And we are done here," Nick proclaimed as he and Yuki floated down to the ground and disengaged their super forms.

Yuki almost instantly fell to the ground, but Nick was over there to catch her.

"You okay, sis?" Nick wondered.

Yuki just nodded, smiling softly. "Just a little exhausted. I haven't used my glowy form in a couple decades. I forgot how much energy that takes out of you."

Nick smiled back at his sister. "Let's go home, sis."

Yuki nodded, leaning forward to kiss Nick on the forehead as they walked out of the Dark Passage together.

(Written by **YukiShinoya444**)

"Saiki-kun? Are you here?" Akatsuki wondered as both Mira and Arte trailed after him. "Hey, we're back...?"

"Nii-chan...?" Saiki poked his head out and promptly reached out for his brother, gripping his sleeves and pulling himself close with a sigh as his head rested against Akatsuki's shoulder. "You... I had no idea it would be so..."

"Tiring?" The now king laughed, patting his sibling's hair. "Well, I have both of my daughters with me, so you're free to go to your own family whenever you want."

"Is that a fact?" Saiki smiled weakly. "I really admire you a lot, nii-chan. Good luck with talking to Doremi-chan."

Akatsuki smiled widely in return, nodding. "Of course."

Arte and Mira blinked once before beaming at one another and lacing their hands together.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Well, we're back!" Nick exclaimed as he pushed open the door with his sister close behind. "Well, Yuki-chan? Come on. Momoko's going to cook so you know it'll be really good."

"Actually, Nick-kun. I'm thinking of just going home to Satoshi-kun and Mana-chan." Yuki smiled sadly, waving her hand. "I'm going to wait for Saiki-kun."

"...Oh."

"I-I'll come by later though... I just... need to say a few things... to him..." She blushed, tucking a coal strand behind her ear. "If that's okay...?"

"What are you talking about?" Her brother grinned. "They're your family, aren't they? I'm proud of you, Yuki-chan."

"Thanks." Yuki smiled brightly and ran off.

Nick just shook his head one last time and shut the door.

(Note From Yuki: So, so, the ending theme shall be "Vanilla Salt" by Yui Horie! Whoo-hoo!)

_BANIRA SORUTO de Burning Love_

_(With Vanilla Salt Burning Love)_

(Footage: Mana is seen rushing down the road before turning up to where the camera is and she beams brightly, saluting.)

_AMAI dake nara SORUTO kakemashou_

_(If it's just sweet, then put salt on it)_

(Footage: Nanaka and Asami are seen skipping with their arms locked as Anju and Sango follow after them while holding hands, just laughing all the way.)

_dare yori mo motto motto watashi o_

_(Because I want you to know more about me)_

(Footage: Keri is seen a little nervous with her hands over her heart as Satoshi seats curiously next to her and the two of them seem to be talking before Yamasaki gets tired and yanks him into a kiss, earning his eyes to jolt wide.)

_shitte hoshii kara sarakedashitai_

_(More than anyone else, I want to bare myself)_

(Footage: Mira and Arte are shown to be watching while the younger looks a little depressed before pouting and flailing, obviously refusing to give up, earning Arte to just giggle happy.)

_demo dekinai no keiken NASSHIN_

_MODOKASHI sugiru_

_(But I can't do it, I've got nothing for experience_

_It's too frustrating)_

(Footage: Megumi places a flower-made crown on Kanae as she blushes heavily and protests. Naoki and Kazuo are seen to be watching them, the latter eagerly sketching the scene while Nakamura soon laughs, wrapping an arm around his megane friend's shoulders.)

_demo AMAI dake no ai wa chotto_

_(But a love that's just sweet)_

(Footage: It's at the Kelly dinner table that they all seem to be laughing and having a good time as Sakura holds a toast and they all drink.)

_watashi ga motomete iru MONO to wa chigau_

_(Is slightly different from what I'm seeking)_

(Footage: Haine, Natsuki, and Raika are all scolding their fathers, waving their arms about and making them look embarrassed while each of their respective mothers look bemused and just all start giggling.)

_SHIRO to iware tara KURO datte icchau_

_(If I'm told it's white, I'd say it's black)_

(Footage: Doremi is seen waiting patiently in bed while staring blankly out the window as the door opens and she gasps in surprise at the sight of her husband standing there and she soon smiles, tears welling up in her eyes.)

_sunao ni nare nai AMANOJAKU_

_(I can't be honest; I say one thing but do another)_

(Footage: Keri is seen heading down the road as she turns to Satoshi and waves mischievously while he blushes and soon waves back a bit sheepishly. Smiling widely, Yamasaki just rushes away.)

_SUKI to iware tara DAIKIRAI date_

_(If I'm told, "I love you", I'd say, "I hate you")_

(Footage: Kurumi is seen yanking on a loudly complaining Shiro, growling and cursing as he apologizes profusely. He begs and looks at her almost hopefully as she huffs before smiling slightly and kissing his cheek.)

_ureshii no ni NANI itte n darou_

_(I'm happy, but what am I saying?)_

(Footage: Saiki opens the door to his house only to be greeted with a hug from Yuki, laughing and pressing her face into his neck as he blushes quite darkly before returning his wife's embrace.)

_AMAI BANIRA ni SORUTO kakeru yo ni_

_(Like putting salt into sweet vanilla...)_

(Footage: Mana and Satoshi make their ways in around their parents, confusing the two of them as they quickly laugh and wave happily, earning Saiki and Yuki to trade smiles as the entire family laughed all together now.)

"So, Satoshi-nii-chan, do you think that's the end? It's just a happily ever after then after all this?"

"I wouldn't say that, Mana-chan... you never know..."

"If we're ever in a pinch, we'll just call Sakura-chan like we always do!"

"...Right..."

Mana soon laughed. "Man, that was interesting though... hey, how do you think our past parents are doing?"

"...Who knows?" Satoshi smiled. "For now though... I just want to enjoy this peace while it lasts."

"Is that so?"

His sister soon laughed.

"Okay."

She sits down, wrapping her arms around her brother.

"Let's make the most of it."

(Oh wow... short ending is short... Hahaha...)


End file.
